Influence of environmental enrichment on aggressive behaviour and dominance relationships in growing pigs (1999)

O'Connell, N. E., Beattie, V. E.

Abstract

The present results show that rearing environments enriched with substrates and extra space improve welfare by directly affecting the social behaviour of pigs. Enrichment significantly reduced aggressive behaviour in a test box and this effect may be extrapolated to any situation where unfamiliar pigs are mixed in confined spaces. .. Pigs from enriched rearing environments fought significantly less with unfamiliar animals than those from barren environments. .. Enrichment also appeared to facilitate the development of social skills which resulted in body weight, rather than aggression, determining dominance.