Longread
Inspecting pig welfare is a joint effort
The laws safeguarding the welfare of pigs need to be monitored properly. This responsibility is carried out by a whole army of European welfare inspectors. And they have access to all the knowledge they require through the European Reference Centre for Animal Welfare - Pigs. “Always based on the most relevant scientific insights,” says coordinator Hans Spoolder.
Imagine: you’re standing next to a pen with a pig farmer. It’s your job to determine the “occupancy rate”: the minimum amount of space each pig needs based on the requirements of the European Union. That space increases as the 1.5-kilo piglets grow into massive, 120-kilo porkers. This pen is already pretty full, but the pigs aren’t fully grown yet. Are they already too big for this enclosure? And how are you supposed to determine this? Weighing each individual pig really isn’t an option.
This may sound like a question on a math exam, but it is far from hypothetical. Pig welfare inspectors face these kinds of challenges every day, having to deal with issues ranging from docked tails to the layout of farrowing pens and difficult conversations with farmers. Luckily, they’re not in this alone. The European Reference Centre for Animal Welfare – Pigs (EURCAW-Pigs) of Wageningen Livestock Research (WLR) supports inspectors with scientific insights and informative events.
Responding to questions of the inspection service
Hans Spoolder, the coordinator of the reference centre, is an animal welfare expert himself. “I am a specialist in animal behaviour. After all, the way an animal behaves is one of the key indicators of how it feels.” Through its website, the reference centre makes Spoolder’s expertise and that of other Wageningen experts available to welfare inspectors and policymakers throughout Europe. “We are all about science – not policy or legal aspects.”
After all, the way an animal behaves is one of the key indicators of how it feels,
The reference centre responds to questions of the inspection service or works on behalf of the European Commission and its member states. The centre also establishes links between inspectors, allowing them to exchange their experiences. “The roadshows are an exceptional example of this. Every year, representatives of the reference centre and experts travel to three member states to discuss cases with inspectors. Other reference centres are now emulating this approach.”
Experts through experience link the international and local dimensions
In 2024, the reference centre organised roadshows in Poland, Romania and Spain. “In Romania, we brought together 41 inspectors, one from each of the country’s districts. Our hopes came true: the meeting led to valuable discussions between colleagues who had never met before. The new, less experienced inspectors learned from the veterans. How to address a farmer who seemed to be violating regulations, for example.” The shows in Poland and Spain likewise drew many visitors, Spoolder says.
During the roadshows, specialists, often from Wageningen, discuss relevant issues from the country they are visiting. “Beforehand, we check in with the inspection service to find out what topics are currently relevant. In Romania, this was African swine fever. This disease had an enormous impact on the pig population in the country. As such, Marien Gerritsen, researcher at Wageningen Livestock Research, gave a workshop on the correct way to cull a large group of pigs. Not a fun topic, of course, but very important nonetheless.”
Gerritsen worked with a Romanian inspector to create a better framework for the culling process. “A local, Romanian inspector knows far more about the local situation and its particular challenges, and can translate the overarching knowledge to their colleagues,” Spoolder explains. “That is the idea of the roadshow: linking international expertise to local issues.”
Podcasts for inspectors, by inspectors
“I took an oath to improve animal welfare in my care for animals. At the same time, as an inspector, I need to observe the law.” The speaker is David McKervey, veterinarian and pig welfare inspector from Ireland, in the podcast Pig Welfare in Action. In episode four, McKervey relates how his background as a veterinarian sometimes clashes with his job as a welfare inspector. “If my government allows live export to abattoirs – which is the case in Ireland – I have to accept this and do what I can to facilitate it.”
The podcast Pig Welfare in Action is produced on behalf of the Reference Centre for Animal Welfare – Pigs. In each episode, a pig welfare professional talks about their daily job and offers their perspective on pig welfare. In earlier episodes, inspectors from Denmark and Greece each spoke about the specific challenges their job poses. The series will be continued in 2025.
Listen to the podcast
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Knowledge for effective inspections
“Our website has thousands of visits per month,” Spoolder explains. “It features reviews of significant current topics, podcasts in which inspectors share their experiences and answers to questions inspectors submit to us.” For example, an anonymised policy officer asked which substrate is most comfortable for piglets. The centre performed a literature study and shared the answer by means of a brief, clear report. It stated that piglets prefer a solid substrate covered in sawdust or another soft top layer.
Our website has thousands of visits per month.
What kinds of information do inspectors need? “Inspection is often a matter of gradations,” Spoolder explains. “What pig behaviour really points to lameness? Which degree of skin damage is concerning? We support inspection services with fact sheets. We currently have fifty of those online, in eight European languages. QR codes on the sheets link to videos or photo series that clearly show what an inspector should look out for.”
How does the inspector analyse the conditions in the pen?
Meanwhile, you’re still standing next to the porker pen. Do the animals have the room they need according to the European Commission? Being an inspector, you know that pigs need to move to a bigger pen for each twenty kilos they gain. These animals differ in size, but it is hard to tell by how much. Luckily, there’s a simple solution, developed by the reference centre. Through their website, you can access a straightforward statistic model that uses normal distribution – the so-called bell curve, which offers insight into the pigs’ weight distribution. You only have to weigh two pigs, one of the smallest and one of the biggest. Based on those data, the model shows the position of the rest of the pigs on the curve, allowing you to tell whether the majority of the pigs suit the current pen.
Over the past five years, the reference centre distributed a total of 387 information sources. On average, that’s 77 factsheets, reviews, videos and podcasts per year. In addition to the roadshows, the centre also organised a total of 58 conferences for policymakers and other events. The European Commission evaluated these activities in 2024 and extended the appointment of the reference centre by another five years. “We’re already busy preparing this year’s roadshows: in France, Italy and Ireland.”