Tail biting: still an enigma in pig science

Tail biting may prove to be a lasting problem in pigs despite serious attempts to find ways to overcome it. A Dutch project is gathering new insights into the phenomena, but progress is slow. About 2.5 years ago, the Dutch pig industry decided to move towards a situation in which pig tails would not be cut as much and eventually not at all – provided that this can happen in a responsible way. Tail biting is often compared to a bucket with water that sometimes can overflow. This can happen as