Farmer attitudes towards pig welfare

Farmers are key stakeholders to ensure the welfare of the animals under their care, which can be expressed in the day-to-day routine or framed by the choice of production system and related management practices. Pig farmers, in general, consider animal welfare important for ethical or production-related reasons. However, the meaning of animal welfare varies with farmers’ cultural and personal characteristics, and the technical, production, and market realities in which they operate. This is associated with farmers’ attitudes to husbandry practices and their motivation and willingness to engage in initiatives aimed at improving pig welfare. More work is needed to contextualise farmers’ experiences, knowledge, and attitudes to pig welfare in regions where farm animal welfare is an emerging issue, or where novel technologies that may impact pig farming are to be implemented.