Social behavior in swine and its impact on welfare

Jeremy N. Marchant-Forde : USDA-ARS, Livestock Behavior Research Unit, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA Introduction Pigs are social animals. From an evolutionary perspective, being social conveys a number of benefits, but potentially some disadvantages, especially for certain individuals within the group. Living in a social group can reduce predation, improve successful foraging, improve rearing of off spring, increase chances of mating and help thermoregulation. On the fl ip side,