1)  SUMMARY OF GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT & SHELTER

a) The environment and shelter for animals shall be designed to allow the animals to behave naturally. Animals shall be able to perform behaviors essential to the animal’s psychological and physical health and well-being.  The system must be fitted to the animals, rather than the animal fitted to the system.

b) Pigs are highly intelligent animals with a strong instinct to graze, forage and root for food, to play, to explore, to socialize with herd-mates or littermates, and in the case of sows, to build a nest at farrowing time.  Their environment shall provide appropriate materials or a suitable substrate and space to enable them to fulfill these instinctive behaviors and maintain stable, positive social relationships.

c) Close confinement that prevents an animal from walking and turning around is prohibited unless briefly required for vaccination, weighing, feeding, marking or veterinary procedures.  Animals shall not be confined for more than ½ hour for these procedures, with the exception of veterinary procedures.

d) All animals must have dry, clean bedding for comfort, health, warmth, insulation from cold or wet floors and dirt, occupation, and cleanliness.

e) Outdoors, pigs shall have continuous access to shelters or pens bedded with straw (wheat, oats, barley or bean straw) or hay or chopped corn stover that protect them from the heat, wind, cold or rain. Adequate amounts of clean, dry straw, hay or stover shall be provided to keep pigs comfortable in cold or wet weather.  Substitutes for straw and corn stover may be used only with the approval of the Animal Welfare Institute.  Straw is the preferred bedding for farrowing sows and their nursing piglets.

f) Even when bedding is not needed for warmth, straw or other approved material shall be provided to hogs in quantities sufficient to enable the animals to play, explore, and root.

g) Air quality –including ammonia and hydrogen sulfide levels- inside buildings must at all times enable animals to breathe freely and safely. It must not pose a risk of injury or health problems in pigs.

h) Liquefaction of swine manure and liquefied swine manure handling systems are prohibited. 

2) ACCESS TO THE OUTDOORS

a) In an effort to promote outdoor access, any new construction after April 1, 2005, must permit outdoor access for all hogs, except for piglets below sixty pounds and nursing sows.  Structures with large openings on the end to let in sunlight which all pigs can avail themselves of on a daily basis, weather permitting and with deep litter composting are excluded from this requirement if used to house growing and finishing hogs.

b) Growing and Finishing Pigs Indoor/outdoor requirements:

1.) For hogs less than 110 pounds: 12 square feet total per hog required.

2.) For hogs 110 pounds and above: 18 square feet total per hot required.

c) Access to pasture or fields, particularly for the breeding herd, and especially from spring through fall, are strongly encouraged and may be given favored treatment by the Animal Welfare Institute in the future.

d) Outdoor areas must be free of debris or other objects, equipment, fittings, openings or protrusions that could cause illness or injury to animals.

e) Outdoors, pigs shall have continuous access to shelter where they can find protection on their own and to which they can be moved for shelter from excessive heat, wind, sun, cold, snow or rain.  

f) Precautions must be taken to protect the health and well-being of the animals in unseasonably cold, hot or wet weather. For example, in the event of a heavy rain or unseasonably cold weather or snow, the doorways of pasture huts may need to be closed or covered and extra bedding provided to wick away moisture.

g) In the heat of summer, wallows or sprinklers and natural or artificial shade must be provided when necessary to prevent distress.

h) Materials such as grass or straw must be available in the environment or provided by the farmer in sufficient amounts to allow sows to build a nest at farrowing.  Farrowing huts must be bedded with straw prior to farrowing.

i) Maximum stocking density on pastures and other land areas should at least meet the guidelines and recommendations of local agricultural advisory services and/or county ordinances, if the latter exist.

3)  SPACE AND GROUPING REQUIREMENTS – INDOOR SPACES

General

a) Housing shall be sufficiently spacious to allow all animals to lie down on their sides with legs outstretched at the same time without overlaying another animal. This minimum does not take account of space requirements to meet other needs to move about, play, explore, root, socialize and maintain a positive social order. 

b) The environment must be arranged and managed in such a way that every animal has sufficient space that the group as a whole can maintain separate eating, lying and dunging areas (in non-deep bedded, composting systems).

c) The environment must be arranged and managed in such a way that every animal has sufficient space that the group as a whole can maintain stable, positive social relationships.

Sows and Gilts-Gestation

d) Pregnant sows must be housed in groups (with the exception of an individual animal who may need to be separated temporarily e.g., for health reasons or for breeding).  Outdoor access is required for sows and gilts during gestation.

e) The groups must be managed in a way that promotes a stable social hierarchy:

1.) New gilts may be introduced (or returning sows who were removed temporarily from their group may be reintroduced) to an established sow group either shortly after breeding, or when sows and litters are mixed in the communal lactation room (as described in Section 3 n-r), or when piglets are weaned and sows are returned to the breeding areas.  However, to ensure sow welfare and prevent unresolved fighting and injuries to less dominant animals, a single animal must never be introduced into an established social group, the method of introduction must be appropriate to each situation, and animals must be provided a suitably enriched environment as described in Section 1.

2.) New gilts (or returning sows) shall be introduced to an existing group of weaned or pregnant sows only if they already have become acquainted with each other and form their own stable subgroup.  The size of this subgroup should be increased as the size of the established group to which it is being introduced increases, but, assuming sows are normally housed in groups of 6 or more sows, the subgroup should never number fewer than 5 sows and gilts.

For example, in sow groups of 30 animals or under, new gilts or sows must be introduced only if they form a minimum stable subgroup of 5 or more sows.  For sow groups having 50 or more sows, new gilts or sows must be introduced only if they form a minimum stable subgroup of 6-8 sows.

3.) Group housed pregnant sows must be provided enough space for a subordinate sow to show submission to a sow of higher rank and for maintaining positive social relationships.  Practically speaking, sows require a meeting distance of approximately 6 to 7 feet in order for the subordinate sow to turn aside and avoid a conflict.

f)  Gestation crates, including the “turn around crate”, stalls and tethers are prohibited.

g) To promote comfort and group stability in groups of sows, the sows and gilts must be able to lie down on their sides with legs outstretched at one time in the bedded lying area, and move about comfortably and freely.  The bedding lying area must be at least 16 square feet per sow. A minimum of 35 square feet per sow including outdoor access should be provided.  If pen size is the minimum square footage allowed for the group, retreat areas should be provided for timid sows by positioning straw or stover bales in the lying area.

Boars

h) Boars must not be kept in solitude or isolation. Each boar must be housed in a way that he can maintain visual and physical contact with at least one other compatible animal. Exceptions will be made for quarantining new boars entering the farm for disease security. Nose to nose contact through a fence will satisfy this requirement, however, housing together with at least one other compatible animal is recommended.

i) When not grouped with sows, boars must have a minimum space allowance of 64 square feet per individual, excluding outdoor access, dunging area, and feeding area. Access to the outdoors is required for boars.

Farrowing and Lactating Sows and their Litters

j) Pens: A farrowing pen is defined as a fenced in enclosure within a building in which the sow and litter are housed alone.  If farrowing in a pen, pen size will be determined by the size of the sow and litter.  Sows about to farrow must be provided an individual hut, pen or free stall for farrowing and nursing.  This farrowing and nursing area must be ample to allow the sow to enter, arrange a nest to farrow, and move about comfortably and freely. Sow and litter must be able to lie down on their sides with legs fully outstretched in the bedded area.  Exact pen size shall be determined by the size of the sow. An average sized sow (approximately 450 pounds) and litter should have a pen that is at least 64 square feet.  If the available area is less than 64 square feet the pen should be converted to a free stall that provides at least 33 square feet to each 450 pound sow with litter. 

If the free stall or hut is not at least 64 square feet in area, the sow must be able to leave the free stall after 72 hours, and piglets after 10 days of age.

If the sow and litter are housed in pens, they should be placed into group lactation by the time they are three weeks of age.

k) Pens, huts or free stalls must be amply bedded with straw with which sows can arrange nests to farrow in and to create a comfortable lying area.  

l) For pens incorporating heat lamps, sawdust is an acceptable substitute for straw in the piglet lying area, being less combustible than straw.

m) Farrowing crates, including the “turn-around” farrowing crate or “Ottawa pen”, are prohibited.

Group lactation systems

n)  In a group (loose) lactation setting, sow and entire litter must be able to lie down in in full lateral recumbency – on their sides with legs fully outstretched- at one time and move about freely in the bedded area. A sow and litter should have a space allotment of 81 square feet.

o) Recommended maximum group size for communal farrowing/lactation is 12 sows, and 8 is preferred.

Pigs Raised for Market (Growing and Finishing Hogs)

p) Minimum indoor/outdoor space requirements for market (growing and finishing pigs):

- For pigs under 110 pounds: 12 square feet per pig.

- For pigs 110 pounds and above: 18 square feet per pig.

q) In the bedded lying area, all hogs must be able to lie down on their sides with legs fully outstretched and move about freely.

r) Loose housed buildings must provide 14 square feet per pig.  This space requirement may need to be increased if new information warrants a change in space requirements.

4)  FLOORING

a) Slatted floors are prohibited.

5)  LIGHT

a) New buildings shall be constructed with windows or openings that allow daylight into the building allowing the animals indoors to experience natural light patterns.  As a guideline on this matter, the natural light available shall be such that a human can read a newspaper in the central part of the pig’s living area.

6)  ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON BEDDING MANAGEMENT

Deep-Bedded Systems

a) In these standards, “deep-bedded” pig housing refers to a method of bedding in which approximately 12 inches of fresh straw or stover is laid down before the pigs enter the area. Fresh bedding is added to the top surface as often as necessary to keep a layer of fresh, dry bedding for pigs.  The fresh bedding may be made available to the pigs to spread themselves, for example, in a large bale put in the pen.  The farmer also spreads the fresh bedding as needed.  The entire bedding pack remains in place and is not removed until the animals are removed.  Wet spots of soiled bedding may be removed as needed during the period when pigs are living on the pack.

b) In the case of pigs loose-housed in groups in deep-bedded systems, there shall be sufficient amount of litter to create a “deep-litter bed” in which composting can start and be sustained at temperatures that will provide warmth to pigs in cold weather, and destroy pathogens.

Non-Deep-Bedded Systems

a) Bedding must be checked daily and topped off by the farmer, as needed, so that all pigs can lie on dry bedding.

b) Straw or other approved material shall be provided to animals in quantities sufficient to give the hogs opportunities to play, explore, forage and root. This includes during hot weather when animals may sometimes prefer resting on cooler, unbedded floors.  The minimum depth of fresh straw or other materials in non-deep bedded systems shall be:

39 degrees Fahrenheit and below: 8 inches

40-59 degrees Fahrenheit: 6 inches

60 degrees Fahrenheit: 3 inches

Additional dry, clean straw must be provided in quantities that ensure pig comfort as temperatures fall. Supplemental heat should be provided as necessary to keep pigs comfortable in all stages of life.

Even when pigs have access to pasture or dirt, adequate bedding shall be provided in shelters to keep pigs comfortable in wet conditions and when temperatures fall below 60 degrees.

7)  FOOD AND WATER

General

a) Animals shall be provided a feeding plan that will guarantee a sufficient, varied and well-balanced diet to appropriately meet their nutritional needs at their stage in life.  Animals shall be given access to their feed as long as is necessary for them to satisfy their nutrient requirements. 

b) Food shall be provided daily and in a way that minimizes competition. 

c) Animals shall have free access to clean drinking water.  This water shall be provided and located in ways that minimize competition for water and prevent pigs from blocking other pigs’ access to the water.

d) Sows and boars who are limit-fed to prevent obesity shall be provided continuous access to clean hay, straw, soybean hulls or similar fiber source to satisfy hunger between meals and to allow the animals to engage in food-search activity.

e) The feeding of meat, meat by-products, blood meal or bone meal to pigs is prohibited.

f) Sow groups, pregnant or lactating, must be fed in a way that permits all sows to eat simultaneously if they choose.  Electronic sow feeding systems, in which sows must wait in line for others to eat, are prohibited.

g) Skip-a-day or interval feeding plans shall not be used in this program. The housing or environment and the distribution of feed shall be designed to minimize competition for food. Low-ranked sows must be assured of proper nutrition.

h) Nursing sows must be provided continuous access to full feed to satisfy their nutritional needs.

i) Piglets must be consuming dry feed by weaning. 

j) Sows must be in condition 2.5 to 4 prior to farrowing, and must maintain a condition score of at least 2 until piglets are weaned. (Condition chart attached.)

Piglets, Growing and Market Pigs

k) Adequate feeder space and quantities of feed shall be provided so that each pig can meet his or her nutritional requirements with a minimum of competition.  5-6” of feeder space should be provided for every 2-3 market pigs provided that feed is continuously available. 

l) Piglets must be consuming dry feed by the time of weaning.

m) Piglets must be at least 6 weeks of age at weaning, except in rare circumstances where the health of the sow or litter are at risk.  The last litter born in a sows and litters living as family groups may be weaned at less than 6 weeks but in no case may piglets be weaned before 5 weeks of age.

8)  HYGIENE AND SAFETY

a) Buildings and other premises that house pigs, including all floors, equipment and fittings, shall be so designed that they do not inflict injuries or entail risks to the health of the animals.  The fittings and other equipment shall not prevent the animals from behaving naturally, nor unwarrantably limit their freedom of movement or otherwise cause them distress. 

b) A safe place must be provided for an ill or injured pig to receive treatment and recover.  Visual contact with other pigs must be provided whenever possible.

c) The animals’ living quarters shall be cleaned by procedures that ensure satisfactory hygiene.  The surfaces of deep litter beds shall be kept dry and be of good hygienic quality.

d) Every effort must be made to correct floors that could become slippery, with particular attention paid to breeding areas.

9)  IN CASE OF INJURY OR ILLNESS

a) In the event a pig suffers accidental injury on the farm, the animal shall receive immediate individual treatment to minimize pain and suffering, including veterinary treatment, if the farmer cannot provide immediate relief.  

b) If the injury is serious enough for the animal to be slaughtered, the animal shall be promptly and humanely euthanized on the farm.  Acceptable methods of euthanasia are appended to this document as Appendix B and are based on standards published by the New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

10)  ANTIBIOTICS AND OTHER TREATMENTS:  REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRICTIONS

a) The non-therapeutic use of antibiotics or sulfas to control or mask disease or promote growth is prohibited.  Medicines may be administered to individual animals to treat disease.

b) The routine use of hormones to induce farrowing is prohibited. In the case of dystocia a one-time administration of hormones is permitted to ease farrowing.

c) The use of “Paylean” or ractopomine or other non-food substances promoting weight gain or development of lean tissue is prohibited. 

d) Individual animals who are in need of antibiotic or other medicinal treatment must be treated to relieve or prevent a deterioration in health or increase in distress.  While animals may be able to recover from some illnesses or injuries without medical treatment, an animal who cannot recover without prolonged or acute suffering must be treated or humanely euthanized.  Making appropriate decisions in this regard requires farmers to err on the side of mercy to the animal when determining whether to immediately treat an animal with drugs or allow the animal to recover on his or her own.

e) Regular pasture rotations and proper bedding management and removal should be the primary method of preventing parasitical infestations.  In cases where prevention has not been effective,  medicinal regimens must be implemented to effectively control worms, lice, and mange.

11)  FIRE PLAN

a) A fire plan must be established. In indoor housing, escape routes to the outdoors must be available from interior pens.  A method to extinguish the fire (fire extinguisher, water source) must be readily accessed. As fire prevention measures, electrical wiring must be protected from pigs. Heat lamps shall be placed in a way that pigs cannot disturb them.

12)  PROTECTION FROM PREDATORS

a) If predation is a risk, every effort must be made to protect pigs from predators though means that are not injurious or lethal to the predator.  Exclusion of predators should be the primary means of control.   If predation cannot be resolved in this way, the method of control must be one that causes immediate unconsciousness and death in order to avoid fear and prolonged pain in the target animal. Poisons, leghold traps or any other method that cause animals to suffer are prohibited.  Methods of predator control must specifically target the individual animal(s) causing the problem.

13)  LOADING, UNLOADING AND TRANSPORT

a) Persons who move and/or transport live animals shall attend to the animals’ needs and take the necessary steps to ensure that the animals are not injured or caused to suffer during loading, transport and unloading.

b) Non-ambulatory, sick, or injured animals or animals who for any reason could have difficulty withstanding the rigors of transport may not be transported, unless to receive veterinary treatment.

c) Handlers and truckers must complete training on humane methods of pig transport. The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) recommends the American Meat Institute’s trucker certification program but will consider an equivalent program presented to AWI.

d) Hot prods or electric shocks shall not be used on the animals. 

e) Farmers are responsible for selecting responsible and humane-minded handlers and truckers who will adhere to these requirements and prohibitions during loading, transport and unloading at the destination.

f) Transport vehicles must maintain safe and comfortable temperature, ventilation and humidity levels or animals shall not be transported.

g) Straw bedding must be provided when temperatures fall below 60 degrees Fahrenheit.  Pigs must be protected from wind chill, sleet, etc., for example, by closing openings on the trailer, while maintaining adequate ventilation.

h) Additional bedding materials must be accessible during transport to replace or supplement bedding already placed for the use of pigs in the transport vehicle.

i) Animals must be sprinkled with water before loading or the transport vehicle must have a built in sprinkler system when temperatures are above 80 degrees Fahrenheit.  In hot weather, hogs must be loaded and unloaded promptly (no unnecessary stops during transport). Trailers must be kept well-ventilated.

j) All pigs must be able to lie down during transport without crowding.  During winter months pigs should be provided with 4.16 square feet of space each (for a 250 pound pig) and 5.0 square feet of space each during the summer months.

k.) Hogs from different farms or social groups should be separated when possible.

14)  Procedures

a) Clipping the needle teeth of piglets is not allowed.  Grinding of needle teeth with a tooth grinder calibrated to blunt only the needle tip of the tooth may be used on the rare occasion that piglets are causing injury to one another.

b) Tail docking is prohibited. A behaviorally appropriate and comfortable environment and good nutrition normally eliminate the need for routine tail-docking.  If tail-biting problems do arise, farmers must identify and eliminate the cause rather than resort to tail-docking. 

c) Removal of tusks on boars is prohibited. This does not prohibit trimming, which may be done with a surgical wire by a trained individual, and only as needed.

d) If piglets are to be castrated, the process must be undertaken before the piglets reach 2 weeks of age by a person proficient in the procedure.

e) Ear notching must not be performed unless permanent marking is absolutely necessary and no alternative can be found.  Care must be taken to avoid veins in the ear and to make only the smallest cut necessary.

f) Nose-ringing is prohibited unless access to vegetated pasture is provided.  Only one septum nose ring will be acceptable and should be inserted by someone proficient in the procedure.  A nose ring in the top of the disk does not have to be removed but if it falls out can only be replaced with a septum ring.

15)  GENETICS

a) Animals shall not be bred for any characteristic that endangers the health or welfare of the animal or his or her progeny. 

16)  DUAL SYSTEMS PROHIBITION

a) The family or individual must employ AWI’s Animal Welfare Approved standards for Pigs^© throughout their/his/her production.   Farmers cannot operate “split” or “dual” systems, in which some animals are simultaneously kept in systems that do not meet AWI standards.

17)  TYPE OF FARM

a) Each farm shall be a family farm, that is, a farm which provides a meaningful livelihood for the family or individual who also

- owns the hogs;
- participates in the daily physical labor to manage the hogs and the farm operation. 

b) The family farm requirement shall not prohibit networking among family farmers as long as all standards listed herein are adhered to by every member of the network.  This includes farmers who raise “feeder pigs”; these pigs must be obtained from a family farmer who meets all of these standards.

c) Farmers in this program will be distinguished by a humane and conscientious attitude toward the animals in their care as well as by housing and husbandry standards that meet the Animal Welfare Approved standards for Pigs^©. 

d) The Animal Welfare Institute will provide advice from veterinarians and experts in pig behavior, including farmers and scientists, when needed or requested. 

Farmers who experience difficulty complying with AWI's Animal Welfare Approved standards for Pigs^© must contact AWI to discuss how to resolve any difficulty.

e) Recognizing that slight variations in the methods used to fulfill the above Animal Welfare Approved standards for Pigs^© will exist, it is the goal of the Animal Welfare Institute that the highest level of husbandry is maintained at all times. 

f) Temporary deviations when unexpected circumstances arise that are not under the control of the farmer will be taken into consideration upon request of the farmer.  A farmer’s extended deviation from AWI's Animal Welfare Approved standards for Pigs^© shall be cause for withdrawal of permission to use the Animal Welfare Institute name in conjunction with that farmer’s product.

g) A farmer applicant committed to abandoning his or her non-compliant systems may request a transition period for certain non-compliant systems which will be considered on a case by case basis.  If granted, the transition allowance will require adherence to a strict and rapid schedule for phasing out the non-compliant system.  However, the presence or use of certain types of non-compliant equipment and practices will disqualify a farm from being considered for a transition period, including gestation or boar crates or tethers, farrowing crates, flat decks and slatted floor liquefied manure systems.  Farmers wanting to qualify for a transition period must dismantle and remove such equipment before being considered for a temporary, transition exception. Animals from a non-compliant system may not be sold in connection with an Anima Welfare Institute program or name.

18) INSPECTIONS

a) The Animal Welfare Institute staff or other representative shall make 1 to 2 visits to each farm every year to confirm compliance with AWI standards in different seasons of the year and/or to observe animals in different phases of rearing.

© 2006 - 2007 Animal Welfare Institute
Copy by written permission only from Animal Welfare Institute