Pig Members Hub
Every year in the UK over 10 million pigs are farmed for food. But sadly a large percentage of these pigs are reared in lower welfare conditions that ignore their welfare needs - barren environments, minimal enrichment, cramped into farrowing crates and stress-inducing travel for slaughter.
Pigs are highly intelligent and sociable animals. They’re inquisitive and have complex needs that should be met by their environment on a farm. Farmers can give pigs good living conditions and a better quality of life by following the RSPCA welfare standards. RSPCA Assured assesses pigs kept in indoor and outdoor systems, helping to improve animal welfare no matter the system. One of our core promises is that we will not and never will allow pigs to be confined during farrowing.
RSPCA Assured continues to work hard alongside the RSPCA to continually progress pig welfare and provide important education on farming to higher welfare standards. 94% of the UK population consume some form of animal produce (meat, eggs, fish or dairy) and 83% say they have no plans to remove animal produce from their diets. That’s why the work we do together with our members is more important than ever - without their collaboration millions of animals would be farmed to lower welfare standards. Because of our collective efforts, millions of pigs are living better lives. That’s something to be proud of.
Short on time? Listen to the key updates for the pig standards on the go!
The RSPCA’s pig welfare standards have recently been updated with amendments that mostly come into effect on 3 March 2025, but there are few that don’t have to be implemented until 2026 (please check out our Q&A page for detailed information about implementation dates). We hope this hub will help all of our fantastic pig members understand these changes better and their impact.
