Everything you need to know about high-welfare pork

When you speak to our pig farmer, Simon, he will tell you that the basics of animal welfare are simple. An animal needs food, shelter and outside space. Just like humans, natural light will trigger circadian rhythms and allow the animals to maintain good health (also just like humans, pigs enjoy hunkering down in their shelters when the rain sets in).

An animal that is well-cared for will build a relationship with the farmer. We see this when we visit the farm and they run towards Simon, nibbling at his boots. The fundamentals of animal welfare are simple but the practise is not. Despite the clear benefits to our animals, around 80% of pig breeding herds in this country are indoors. Intensive farms exist in their hundreds and there are pigs being farmed at this very moment that will never see the light of day.

Free-range vs outdoor-bred

So that’s the basics. Unfortunately, understanding what high-welfare pork really means is complicated by industry jargon.

If you see a label of outdoor-bred, this means the pig was born outdoors but moved indoors once weaned (or shortly after). Similarly, outdoor reared defines a pig that was first outdoor bred, reared outdoors for around half its life and then moved indoors. This does not necessarily mean the pig has been living on a muddy pasture, it could just be an outside pen.

Free-range, on the other hand, means the pig has lived outside for its entire life. The pigs are also free to enjoy a foraged diet, engaging in natural behaviours like mud wallowing and interacting with the other pigs. We further define our pigs as “truly free-range” because they are given space beyond the minimum requirements – ensuring our pigs remain healthy, happy and producing quality meat.

Free-range requirements

To call a pig free-range, there’s a minimum space requirement of 12 metres squared per pig. For context, on an intensive farm this space allowance could be as little as 0.75 metres squared per pig. For our pigs, Simon ensures that each animal has around 30 metres squared of muddy pasture. This type of rearing system is built to minimise stress and maximise health.

Nose ringing

A free-range pig can still be subject to low-welfare practices. Nose-ringing is an example of this, used to protect the land by preventing the pigs from rooting around the soil and making it muddy. This is an instinctive behaviour for pigs that is integral to welfare (it will also stop pregnant sows from properly creating a nest). For all of these reasons our pig farmer, Simon, doesn’t use any form of nose ringing. Instead, he will rotate the pigs on a regular basis to ensure the land has a chance to recover. Pigs are happiest when rooting around the soil and wallowing in their mud baths. We need to allow this to happen to create a high-welfare rearing system.

Disease challenges

On an intensive pig farm, there could be up to 1,000 pigs sharing a single air space. This makes disease outbreaks difficult to control and the stressful environment worsens the health of the pigs. The fight for space leads to aggressive behaviour and this only adds to the stress-load and health problems that follow. To mitigate the low-welfare conditions, between each round of pigs the farmer will be forced to disinfect the rearing space.

On a free-range pig farm, where the animals live outside, the risk of disease is minimised. Pigs are naturally hygienic and they will not muck in their shelters when they have space to move outside. In the case of our pigs, from the moment they are weaned they are kept in constant groups to avoid any risk of bullying or aggression. In each paddock there is enough space for up to 50 pigs to qualify as free-range, but to ensure their wellbeing our pigs are kept in groups of roughly 25.

Lack of natural light

On an intensive farm, the pigs could be living on metal slats with no natural light and muck falling through to a slurry pit below. This could also be without straw or mud to display natural rooting behaviours and enjoy the comfort this provides. In some breeding herds, timed artificial lights are used to stimulate the animals to come into season – a basic biological process that is no longer able to function.

Routine medication

With plenty of space, our pigs do not require routine medication. Good food, a warm shelter and a low-stress environment is preventative towards disease. If an animal is given routine medication, you can be fairly sure it was reared in low-welfare conditions (so it’s a good question to ask your butcher or meat supplier).

Choosing a kinder way to eat

High-welfare pork is more expensive than low-welfare alternatives, but the benefits to animal welfare and the quality of the meat is incomparable. The more demand we create for this type of meat, the more our farmers will be able to continue rearing animals in this way. Intensive farms rely on low-welfare rearing methods because it’s the cheapest and quickest option. The responsibility lies with us, the consumer.