Providing Effective Environmental Enrichment to Pigs: How Far Have We Come?

Abstract

Science has defined the characteristics of effective environmental enrichment for pigs. We provide an overview of progress towards the provision of pig enrichment in the three largest global pork producing regions. In the USA, enrichment has not yet featured on the policy agenda, nor appeared on farms, except when required by certain farm assurance schemes. China has very limited legal animal welfare provisions and public awareness of animal welfare is very low. Food safety concerns severely restrict the use of substrates (as enrichment) on farms. Providing enrichment to pigs is a legal requirement in the EU. In practice, enrichment is not present, or simple (point-source) objects are provided which have no enduring value. Other common issues are the provision of non-effective or hazardous objects, inadequate presentation, location, quantity and size or inadequate maintenance of enrichment. Improvements can be made by applying principles from the field of experimental analysis of behaviour to evaluate the effectiveness of enrichment; providing welfare knowledge transfer, including training and advisory services; highlighting the economic benefits of effective enrichment and focusing on return on investment; increasing pressure from the financial sector; using novel drivers of change, such as public business benchmarking. The poor implementation of scientific knowledge on farms suggests that the pig industry has not fully embraced the benefits of effective enrichment and is still a long way off achieving an enriched pig population.

Does Diversity Matter? Behavioural Differences between Piglets Given Diverse or Similar Forms of Enrichment Pre-Weaning

“…Provision of enrichment can prevent or reduce tail-directed behaviours [ 4 , 5 ], improve pigs’ emotional state [ 6 ] and improve pig performance [ 7 ]. In general, loose organic material, such as straw (from a handful to deep straw-bedding), is considered to be the gold standard.…”

A High Enrichment Replenishment Rate Reduces Damaging Behaviors and Increases Growth Rate in Undocked Pigs Kept in Fully Slatted Pens

“…Effective enrichment should be able to stimulate species-specific behaviors and prevent damaging behaviors, for example, tail biting is considered a redirected foraging behavior (5). Thus, enrichment should allow pigs to investigate, manipulate, chew and ingest (6), and sustain their interest. Provision of loose bedding materials such as straw satisfies these criteria and is considered effective in reducing tail biting (7)(8)(9), but on fully slatted floors straw can block slurry removal systems (10).…”

“…Although the benefit of enrichment has been widely acknowledged among stakeholders (20), the awareness of its importance and the uptake and use of suitable enrichment materials in commercial practices in the EU has still been low (6,20). A significant obstacle is the perceived negative economic impact on production costs, in terms of the supply of the actual materials and the extra labor required for maintenance (21).…”

“…A significant obstacle is the perceived negative economic impact on production costs, in terms of the supply of the actual materials and the extra labor required for maintenance (21). In order to reduce these costs, some producers use objects that are either of inappropriate materials or presentation (e.g., a hanging metal chain), which may lead to negative effects on pig welfare (6). On the other hand, the benefit of appropriate enrichment provision on pigs' performance is well documented (22,23).…”

Organic Dairy Cattle: Do European Union Regulations Promote Animal Welfare?

“…Animal welfare science directed towards farm animals has focused primarily on providing science-based evidence to mitigate the negative effects of housing (i.e., restrictive housing designs) and management practices (i.e., painful procedures) on the animals [ 6 ]. Despite these efforts, much of the scientific knowledge identifying best practices has not yet been implemented on farm or integrated into current regulations [ 7 ]. Hence, current living conditions on many farms often fail to achieve high welfare standards [ 8 ], challenging the idea that farm animals, including dairy cattle, live “a life worth living” [ 9 ].…”