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This short review provides background on the behavioural needs of sows in terms of feeding and exploring and describes different types of enrichment materials. Furthermore, it highlights different methods to offer enrichment material to sows during pregnancy.

This training program will focus on alternative group housing and management strategies. The program can be regarded as an ‘add-on’ to the existing training program “Group housing and mixing of sows” as most of that programs’ points are just as relevant for the service period.

This training program will focus on introducing participants to what stereotypes are, why they are developed and how they can act as indicators of impaired animal welfare - and partly on housing and management solutions to prevent and to mitigate stereotypies.

This scientific opinion by the EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW) focuses on the welfare of pigs on farm, and is based on literature and expert opinion. All pig categories were assessed: gilts and dry sows, farrowing and lactating sows, suckling piglets, weaners, rearing pigs and boars. The most relevant husbandry systems used in Europe are described. For each system, highly relevant welfare consequences were identified, as well as related animal-based measures (ABMs), and hazards leading to the welfare consequences. Moreover, measures to prevent or correct the hazards and/or mitigate the welfare consequences are recommended. Recommendations are also provided on quantitative or qualitative criteria to answer specific questions on the welfare of pigs related to tail biting and related to the European Citizen's Initiative ‘End the Cage Age’. For example, the AHAW Panel recommends how to mitigate group stress when dry sows and gilts are grouped immediately after weaning or in early pregnancy. Results of a comparative qualitative assessment suggested that long-stemmed or long-cut straw, hay or haylage is the most suitable material for nest-building. A period of time will be needed for staff and animals to adapt to housing lactating sows and their piglets in farrowing pens (as opposed to crates) before achieving stable welfare outcomes. The panel recommends a minimum available space to the lactating sow to ensure piglet welfare (measured by live-born piglet mortality). Among the main risk factors for tail biting are space allowance, types of flooring, air quality, health status and diet composition, while weaning age was not associated directly with tail biting in later life. The relationship between the availability of space and growth rate, lying behaviour and tail biting in rearing pigs is quantified and presented. Finally, the panel suggests a set of ABMs to use at slaughter for monitoring on-farm welfare of cull sows and rearing pigs.

This plain language summary (PLS) is a simplified communication of EFSA’s Opinion on the welfare of pigs on farm. The purpose of this PLS is to enhance transparency and inform interested parties on EFSA’s work on the topic using simplified language.

Pregnant sows are generally fed at a restricted level to avoid overweight/high body condition score and the risk of problems at farrowing. However, restrictive feeding has welfare implications as it may lead to hunger, stereotypic behaviour and increased aggression. This review looks at the causes of and ways to reduce these risks to animal welfare.

Selection of appropriate housing conditions for sows is critical for their physical health and long-term reproductive success. The present objective was to evaluate the influences of housing system postweaning (i.e., individual stalls (IS) or group pens (GP)), season and parity on piglet productivity of sows in a commercial setting. This study utilized 3 053 Polish Large White × Polish Landrace sows that were weaned at a rate of 20–30 animals per week at the median age of 4 weeks; 1 474 sows were moved into GP of seven to eight animals each, while 1 579 were placed in IS after weaning. Starting 2 days postweaning all animals were checked for estrus with a teaser boar and then artificially inseminated using 3 × 109 spermatozoa per dose of an inseminate at the onset of heat and 24 h later. The proportion of sows showing the signs of standing heat at or before 6 days postweaning was greater (P < 0.05) for sows moved to GP compared with IS; this difference manifested mainly in second parity sows weaned in the summer and fall. Conception and farrowing rates were significantly higher (P < 0.01) and the weaning-to-estrus interval shorter in GP compared with IS sows in every season but autumn. Mean litter size was lower (P < 0.05) in IS groups in summer, autumn, and winter, and the number of live-born piglets/sow was lower (P < 0.05) for IS sows in the summer and fall. Beneficial effects of group housing on piglet productivity manifested up until the seventh consecutive farrowing and then began to wane. In summary, there was a significantly greater proportion of sows going estrus “on time” (i.e., < 7 days) in group housing compared to single stalls but this effect was confined to the second parity sows during the summer and fall months; these results suggest the existence of a seasonal and age-related aspect to sow fertility worthy of further investigation. While both housing systems have their pros and cons, our present results indicate that, in commercial settings, group

The EU Reference Centre of Animal Welfare (EURCAW) was established in 2018 by DG SANTE to support EU Member States on issues related to the pig welfare legislation. As part of its activities, EURCAW-Pigs organises annual meetings with a Reflection Board, including representatives of the pig supply chain, related professional organisations and civil society organisations. The Reflection Board is informed about the activities of EURCAW-Pigs and is asked to reflect on them and to support the Centre with technical information.

Fiche indicateur: Logement en groupes et mélange de truies.

Fiche indicateur: Logement en groupes et mélange de truies.

Body condition: indicator of quantity of food intake by individual sows (IFS-Pigs-2020-29-EN; v2.0) / Lameness: indicator of sows’ pain and discomfort due to insufficient flooring (IFS-Pigs-2020-30-EN; v2.0) / Manure on the body: indicator for sows’ competition for lying areas and climatic comfort (IFS-Pigs-2020-31-EN; v2.0) / Panting: indicator of heat stress in sows (IFS-Pigs-2020-32-EN; v2.0) / Skin lesions: indicator for aggression due to mixing of, or competition between, sows (IFS-Pigs-2020-33-EN; v2.0) / Stereotypies: indicators for frustration due to hunger and inappropriate foraging behaviour in sows (IFS-Pigs-2020-34-EN; v2.0) / Vulva lesions: indicator of being bitten by a competitor when sows are feeding in stalls without protection (IFS-Pigs-2020-35-EN; v2.0).

Indicator factsheet: Gruppenhaltung und Gruppierung von Sauen.

Ficha técnica de indicadores: Alojamiento en grupo y mezcla de cerdas.

Indicator factsheet: Gruppenhaltung und Gruppierung von Sauen.

Ficha técnica de indicadores: Alojamiento en grupo y mezcla de cerdas.

Fiche indicateur: Logement en groupes et mélange de truies.

Indicator factsheet: Gruppenhaltung und Gruppierung von Sauen.

Ficha técnica de indicadores: Alojamiento en grupo y mezcla de cerdas.

Indicator factsheet: Gruppenhaltung und Gruppierung von Sauen.

Ficha técnica de indicadores: Alojamiento en grupo y mezcla de cerdas.

Ficha técnica de indicadores: Alojamiento en grupo y mezcla de cerdas.

Indicator factsheet: Groepshuisvesting en mengen van zeugen.

Ficha técnica de indicadores: Alojamiento en grupo y mezcla de cerdas.

Indicator factsheet: Gruppenhaltung und Gruppierung von Sauen.

Ficha técnica de indicadores: Alojamiento en grupo y mezcla de cerdas.

Fiche indicateur: Logement en groupes et mélange de truies.

Indicator factsheet: Groepshuisvesting en mengen van zeugen.

Indicator factsheet: Gruppenhaltung und Gruppierung von Sauen.

Indicator factsheet: Groepshuisvesting en mengen van zeugen.

Fiche indicateur: Logement en groupes et mélange de truies.

Fiche indicateur: Logement en groupes et mélange de truies.

Indicator factsheet: Groepshuisvesting en mengen van zeugen.

Indicator factsheet: Gruppenhaltung und Gruppierung von Sauen.

Indicator factsheet: Groepshuisvesting en mengen van zeugen.

Indicator factsheet: Groepshuisvesting en mengen van zeugen.

Fiche indicateur: Logement en groupes et mélange de truies.

Indicator factsheet: Groepshuisvesting en mengen van zeugen.

EURCAW, pigs, animal welfare, animal husbandry, EURCAWPG, group housing, mixing, sows

Indicator factsheet: Group-housing and mixing of sows.

The European Reference Centre for Animal Welfare – Pigs (EURCAW-Pigs) organized its first meeting of the EURCAW-Pigs Advisory Board (AB) on July 3, 2020. In 2020, it was planned to have two physical one-day meetings in Brussels. However, due to COVID-19, the first meeting was organized online, in Microsoft Teams. The second meeting will be at the end of 2020, either physical or online.