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SUMMARY
Tail biting is one of the most serious welfare challenges in the modern pig industry. There are several attempts to prevent or treat this abnormal behaviour which
typically develops after weaning and during the fattening stage. The life of modern pig breeds has changed dramatically compared to their ancestor, the wild
boar. However, their behavioural repertoire is still the same and has not changed
fundamentally over thousands of years of domestication. In their natural habitat
pigs are exploring their environment, searching for food, rooting or chewing, in
75% of their active period of the day. In modern pig houses animals are kept
in small and fundamentally barren environment compared to the wild. Food is
provided in food trays, which are often too small for the whole group to feed
altogether. Consequently, the smallest and weakest individuals are displaced
from the feeder by their more developed counterparts. Not only the displacement, but also the chewing and rooting deprivation may trigger the motivation
to bite pen-mates’ tails or even ears and flanks. When considering both the
motivational background and form of the behaviour, there are at least 3 different
types of tail biting behaviour, e.g. two-stage, sudden-forceful and obsessive,
with large individual differences in response. There are several environmental
and individual factors that predispose a pig to develop biting, become a victim
or stay neutral (neither bite nor being bitten by others).
Tail biting may be prevented by tail docking, and about 90% of fattening pigs are
docked in the EU. However, it has been reported that 2 - 5% of docked pigs are
still bitten by pen-mates. The proportion of bitten animals in undocked stocks
has been found to be up to 30%. Although genetic selection for more tolerant
individuals might be a promising solution for breeders, there are preventative
measures that can be done to decrease the occurrence of this unwanted behaviour. Detecting the first signs of the outbreak is crucial. Early removal of the biters and bitten animals, and providing straw or any other chewable material can
strongly reduce the occurrence of tail biting.
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