An illustration showing different ways to avoid tail docking pigs

A summary of our technical information sheet on the topic in a simpler, easy to read format.

Tail biting in pigs is a problem of modern pig production and can occur at all stages in the production cycle. It leads to tail damage of varying severity (see Hunter et al., 1999) and can include swelling and infection, which travels up the spinal cord causing abscessesin the lungs, and pyaemia (a type of septicaemia causing widespread abscessesin the organs (see Schroder-Pedersen and Simonsen, 2001 for full details). Tail biting is therefore a serious welfare issue. In order to reduce the risk of tail biting in modern pig production systems, producers dock the tails of pigs, either with sidecutting pliers or gasheated cautery clippers. Tail docking does not eliminate tail biting however, and is a procedure that causes acute and transient pain, with potential long term chronic discomfort.

A summary of our technical information sheet on the topic in a simpler, easy to read format.

Piglets are born with eight sharp needle teeth which are either cut just above the gum-line (with sharp side cutter pliers) or the tip is ground (with a rotating grindstone), shortly after birth. Teeth clipping and grinding are collectively known as tooth resection, practiced to prevent damage to sows’ udders and facial fighting lesions of piglets during lactation. Routine tooth resection is not permitted under EU legislation (Commission Directive 2001/93/EC) and teeth-clipping (as opposed to teeth grinding) is not permitted in some countries, such as Germany, Denmark, Norway and Switzerland.

A summary of our technical information sheet on the topic in a simpler, easy to read format.

Around 80% of male piglets in the EU are castrated (EFSA, 2004), equating to approximately 100 million piglets each year, mostly without anaesthetics or analgesics (Fedriksen et al., 2009). The primary reason for castrating male piglets is to reduce boar taint (Prunier et al., 2005), although important secondary benefits include reduced aggression and sexual behaviours such as mounting, that increase with the onset of puberty in entire males (Zamaratskaia et al., 2009). Aggression and sexual behaviours increase the risks of injury to pigs, such as fight lesions and lameness (Fabrega et al., 2010; Rydhmer et al., 2010) and thus convey a reduction in welfare (FVE, 2009). There are also associated increased risks to stockpeople.