Tail biting - a risk for pigs’ welfare and health, and omissions of European policies

Sa？etak Pig production is the most important animal production sector in the EU, and the tail biting is still one of the most important problems of welfare and health. This behavioral disorder causes large economic losses through the medical costs for injured animals, prolonged rearing time, mortality, discarding of carcasses (or parts of carcasses) due to abscesses and finally due to potential transfer of other diseases. Abscesses, which develops because of tail biting besides economic risk, can also present a public health risk for consumers. In order to reduce potential risks, pig breeders still routinely dock tails (although forbidden by legislation), but this operation does not solve the problem but only reduce the symptoms. Although the European Union (EU) owns one of the most stringent regulatory frameworks on animal welfare in the world, due to the economic importance of pig production, the docking of tails is one issue on which the EU is turning its head. This is best illustrated by the fact that the largest pig producers Member States in the EU also have the highest percentage of routinely docked tails. Therefore, in the future, the common EU policies will need more concrete measures and activities to protect pig welfare and health. Significant role in that implementation of welfare assessment on farms and slaughterhouses shall certainly belong to the veterinary inspection, which will need to be systematically upgraded for this new role