Campaigners have warned that the UK is failing to enforce its own legal ban on the routine tail docking of pigs.

This refers to the removal of part of the tail to prevent tail-biting, which is a behavior caused by stress, overcrowding or lack of enrichment.

Edie Bowles, executive director at The Animal Law Foundation, said: “Data suggests that up to 85% of pig farms continue to dock pigs’ tails, despite the practice being illegal when carried out routinely.

“It also reveals a troubling lack of enforcement of animal welfare laws: where protections for farmed animals do exist, they are rarely upheld, and there appears to have been no prosecutions for routine tail docking.”

The animal welfare group warned that the practice has become the default in UK pig farming, unlike in countries such as Finland, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland.

Severe injuries, infection and discomfort can occur when pigs bite each others’ tails, studies have shown.

Ms Bowles said tail docking persists in the UK “not because it is necessary, but because it is easy”.

She added: “Other countries have demonstrated that pigs can be reared without this painful mutilation. The law already requires a suitable environment, which if provided would tackle a significant amount of tail biting, yet there is lack of willingness to enforce this in any meaningful way and to address the root cause of this welfare issue.”

The Animal Law Foundation called on the UK government to enforce the existing prohibition on routine tail docking and provide clear guidance to veterinary professionals, who must authorise the docking, to prevent them authorising illegal mutilations.

Morgane Alting von Geusau, advocacy and communications coordinator at The Animal Law Foundation, said: “Tail biting is a warning sign that something is wrong,” said “Cutting off pigs’ tails avoids confronting the failures of intensive farming systems at the expense of animal welfare and in defiance of the law.”