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Pig Finisher Welfare: Science of the Finishing Period
Overview: Welfare review of the finishing period for pigs, covering space, enrichment, aggression, and slaughter welfare.
Key Welfare Facts
- The finishing period represents 70% of a pig's commercial life, making it the most welfare-significant production phase.
- Space allowances in finishing pens directly affect aggression rates, injury prevalence, and resting behaviour.
- Enrichment provision reduces directed aggression and redirected behaviours that cause injury between animals.
- Social stress increases near slaughter as unfamiliar animals are mixed, causing fighting and injury at high rates.
- Lairage time before slaughter is a significant welfare challenge requiring temperature control and minimal stress.
- Pre-slaughter stunning with CO2 or electrical methods must be effective to prevent return to consciousness.
Welfare Assessment
Finishing pig welfare encompasses both the long production period and the critical pre-slaughter period. Supporting farms with higher space allowances, mandatory enrichment, and documented slaughter welfare protocols drives improvement across the most welfare-significant phase of pig production.
What You Can Do
- Choose pork products from farms with documented space allowances above the legal minimum
- Support certification schemes requiring enrichment provision throughout the finishing period
- Advocate for CCTV requirements in slaughterhouses to monitor stunning effectiveness
- Ask retailers about slaughter welfare auditing policies for their pork suppliers