Pig World
  • News
      • Animal Health
      • Breeding
      • Business
      • Environment
      • EU
      • Food Safety
      • Housing
      • Marketing
      • NPA
      • National Pig Awards
      • New Products
      • Nutrition
      • People
      • Pig Fair
      • Politics
      • Training & Education
      • Welfare
  • Features
    • Animal Health
    • Breeding
    • Environment
    • Farm Visits
    • Herd Recording
    • Housing
    • Marketing
    • Nutrition
    • Products
    • Training
  • Comment
    • AHDB Pork
    • Chris Fogden
    • Dennis Bridgeford
    • Peter Crichton
    • Red Robin
    • Veterinary View
    • Zoe Davies, NPA
  • Numbers
  • Pig Prices
  • Magazines
    • September 2025
    • August 2025
    • 2025 Maximising Pig Health supplement
    • July 2025
    • June 2025
    • 2025 Innovation supplement
    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • 2025 Buildings supplement
    • February 2025
    • 2025 Nutrition Supplement
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • 2025 National Pig Awards supplement
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • August 2024
    • 2024 Pig Health supplement
    • July 2024
    • June 2024
    • 2024 Innovation supplement
    • 2024 Pig & Poultry Fair Guide
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • 2024 Buildings Supplement
    • March 2024
    • 2024 Pig Nutrition supplement
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • 2023 National Pig Awards supplement
    • October 2023
    • September 2023
    • Health Supplement
  • Suppliers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Classified
  • Events
    • Pigs Tomorrow
    • National Pig Awards
Podcast
Pig WorldPig World
  • News
      • Animal Health
      • Breeding
      • Business
      • Environment
      • EU
      • Food Safety
      • Housing
      • Marketing
      • NPA
      • National Pig Awards
      • New Products
      • Nutrition
      • People
      • Pig Fair
      • Politics
      • Training & Education
      • Welfare
  • Features
    • Animal Health
    • Breeding
    • Environment
    • Farm Visits
    • Herd Recording
    • Housing
    • Marketing
    • Nutrition
    • Products
    • Training
  • Comment
    • AHDB Pork
    • Chris Fogden
    • Dennis Bridgeford
    • Peter Crichton
    • Red Robin
    • Veterinary View
    • Zoe Davies, NPA
  • Numbers
  • Pig Prices
  • Magazines
    1. September 2025
    2. August 2025
    3. 2025 Maximising Pig Health supplement
    4. July 2025
    5. June 2025
    6. 2025 Innovation supplement
    7. May 2025
    8. April 2025
    9. March 2025
    10. 2025 Buildings supplement
    11. February 2025
    12. 2025 Nutrition Supplement
    13. January 2025
    14. December 2024
    15. November 2024
    16. 2025 National Pig Awards supplement
    17. October 2024
    18. September 2024
    19. August 2024
    20. 2024 Pig Health supplement
    21. July 2024
    22. June 2024
    23. 2024 Innovation supplement
    24. 2024 Pig & Poultry Fair Guide
    25. May 2024
    26. April 2024
    27. 2024 Buildings Supplement
    28. March 2024
    29. 2024 Pig Nutrition supplement
    30. February 2024
    31. January 2024
    32. December 2023
    33. November 2023
    34. 2023 National Pig Awards supplement
    35. October 2023
    36. September 2023
    37. Health Supplement
    Featured

    September 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    September 1, 2025
    Recent

    September 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    September 1, 2025

    August 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    August 1, 2025

    2025 Maximising Pig Health supplement now available

    August 1, 2025
  • Suppliers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Classified
  • Events
    • Pigs Tomorrow
    • National Pig Awards
LinkedIn X (Twitter)
Pig World
Features

Environmental enrichment – what you need to know

Alistair DriverBy Alistair DriverMay 11, 20194 Mins Read
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Email

The key points to consider when it comes to providing environmental enrichment for pigs

Providing suitable environmental enrichment can make a huge contribution to improving pigs’ living conditions. The practice is therefore an essential part of the drive to tackle tail biting. Getting it right is not easy, but there is excellent guidance available in AHDB’s guide Environmental enrichment for pigs.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Pigs are naturally curious and in semi- natural surroundings spend 75% of their time burrowing, foraging and exploring. Providing objects or materials for proper investigation and manipulation helps reduce the frequency of abnormal behaviour, such as tail biting and aggression.

It broadens the range of behaviours expressed, while pigs raised in enriched housing react less aggressively to changes in their surroundings and are therefore easier to handle.

Enrichment also improves performance, including feed intake, average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR).

WHAT ARE THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS?
UK law makes it a legal requirement for pig farmers to provide enrichment at all production stages, including sows. It stipulates that pigs must have permanent access to environmental enrichment materials in ‘a sufficient quantity of material to enable proper investigation and manipulation activities… which does not compromise the health of the animals’.

EU law also recognises the importance of foraging and investigative behaviour for pig welfare. In 2016, the European Commission set out guidance to reduce the need for tail docking, which included outlining the key characteristics environmental enrichment materials should have.

WHAT ARE THE KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF ENRICHMENT MATERIALS?
The objects and materials should fulfil the following attributes:

Safe – for pigs and stockpersons.

Edible or feed-like – so pigs can eat or smell them, preferably with some nutritional benefits.

Chewable – so pigs can bite them.

Investigable – so pigs can investigate them, allowing them to root with their snout.

Manipulable or deformable – so pigs can change the material’s location, appearance or structure. Novelty is key to maintaining a pig’s interest in an object. Therefore, enrichment materials should also be provided in such a way that they are:

Of sustainable interest – enrichments should encourage the exploratory behaviour of pigs and be regularly replaced, replenished or rotated.

Accessible – for oral manipulation to all pigs at all times, and presented at a height that pigs can easily interact with them, yet be kept clean.

Given in sufficient quantity – for any pig to gain access when they are motivated to do so, and so as not to generate competition between pigs.

Clean and hygienic – pigs will rapidly lose interest in soiled enrichment materials.

WHAT ITEMS SHOULD BE USED?
Enrichment materials should meet all the above characteristics to comply with the legal requirements. If not, a combination of materials is essential.

Good-quality straw as bedding satisfies all criteria for good enrichment materials and can be used alone. However, straw is not always practical as a bedding material. Other materials used as bedding, such
as wood shavings, shredded paper, soil and sand, usually meet the needs for investigation and manipulation but are not necessarily edible or chewable.

A combination of materials – such as natural ropes, root vegetables, forage in racks, compressed straw in cylinders, hessian cloth bags, rubber or plastic items, commercially available toys, chains or wood – should be used in systems where bedding cannot be provided as a source of enrichment.

WHAT ITEMS SHOULD NOT BE USED?
Non-virgin wood could contain sharp objects, and synthetic rope and tyres may contain wire or metal strips.

Also to be avoided are materials with the risk of biological or chemical contaminants, such as peat/mushroom compost, dog chews made from animal products, and dirty or soiled objects.

More detailed information can be found in AHDB’s enrichment guide, which is available by clicking HERE.

WHAT DOES RED TRACTOR REQUIRE?
The Red Tractor scheme stipulates that pigs must have permanent access to environmental enrichment. Its standards cite straw, hay, wood and sawdust as acceptable enrichment. Objects such as footballs and deformable-plastic pipe will only be regarded as satisfactory when demonstrated to satisfy investigation and manipulation activities. Chains alone are not acceptable and manipulable material containing wire, such as tyres, should not be used.

 

Share. LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email
Previous ArticleAn evolving industry under huge strain
Next Article Milk cups and impressive weight gains underline performance in Essex
Alistair Driver

Editor Pig World, group editor Agronomist and Arable Farmer and Farm Contractor. National Pig Association webmaster. Former political editor at Farmers Guardian. Occasional media pundit. Brought up on a Leicestershire farm. Works from a shed in his Oxfordshire garden.

Read Similar Stories

Spotlight on UK pig sector’s biggest threat

September 2, 2025

African swine fever – a truly global disease

September 2, 2025

TTF3 – next round of antibiotic targets aims to drive further positive change

August 8, 2025
Latest News

GB pig prices for week ending August 30, 2025 – SPP drops back

September 3, 2025

Straw prices for the week ending September 7, 2025

September 3, 2025

Farm assurance debate: An important change driven by the supply chain

September 3, 2025
Sponsored Content

Enhancing Weaned Pig Health and Performance with Zinc and Iron

August 1, 2025

THE GATEKEEPER OF RESPIRATORY HEALTH – MYCOPLASMA HYOPNEUMONIAE (M.HYO)

April 30, 2024
Current Pig Industry jobs
  • Pig Stockperson – Ref 1773 Aberdeenshire

    • Aberdeenshire
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
  • Senior Pig Stockperson – Ref 1772 Aberdeenshire

    • Aberdeenshire
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
  • Senior Pig Stockperson – Ref 1771 Australia

    • Queensland, Australia
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
GETTING IN TOUCH
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Meet The Editors
  • About Us
  • Email Newsletters
  • Subscribe
  • Reuse permissions
OUR SOCIAL CHANNELS
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
PARTNER EVENTS
RELATED SITES
  • Farmers Weekly
  • Agronomist & Arable Farmer
  • Farm Contractor
  • National Pig Awards
  • Pigs Tomorrow
  • Poultry News
  • Weekly Tribune
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
© 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.