title: Save the pig tail.
abstract: Tail biting is a common problem in modern pig production and has a negative impact on both animal welfare and economic result of the farm. Tail biting risk is increased by management and housing practices that fail to meet the basic needs of pigs. Tail docking is commonly used to reduce the risk of tail biting, but tail docking in itself is a welfare problem, as it causes pain to the pigs, and facilitates suboptimal production methods from a welfare point-of-view. When evaluating the cost and benefit of tail docking, it is important to consider negative impacts of both tail docking and tail biting. It is also essential to realize that even though 100% of the pigs are normally docked, only a minority will end up bitten, even in the worst case. In addition, data suggests that tail biting can be managed to an acceptable level even without tail docking, by correcting the production system to better meet the basic needs of the pigs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Production Animal Medicine & Research Centre for Animal Welfare, University of Helsinki, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, P.O. Box 57, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valros
authors.affiliation: Department of Production Animal Medicine, University of Helsinki, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Paroninkuja 20, 04920 Saarentaus, Finland.
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heinonen
keywords: Pig; Risk factors; Tail biting; Tail docking