Abstract: SAPARO-Application – Digital Tool for Risk Assessment, Action Planning and Follow Up of Tail Biting

Type and Average of Pigs on the Farm

The farm maintains approximately 2,100 grower-finishers.

Farming System

Intensive, small-scale production system.

Description and Evaluation of the Good Practice

The SAPARO Application is a free digital tool that supports pig farms in the prevention and management of tail biting by screening risk factors, creating action plans and monitoring the situation over time. This farm built a new pig house approximately three years ago whose layout proved problematic for rearing pigs with intact tails, causing condemnations and significant financial losses at the slaughterhouse. Following the veterinarian's recommendation, the farm started using the application in July 2025. The tail biting problem consists mainly of constant nibbling, often only visible when examining the tail closely. A change of breed has reduced the problem slightly, but ventilation and air quality issues remain the root cause to be resolved. The application consists of a desktop dashboard and a mobile observation app used during barn rounds to assess risk factors, create prevention plans, monitor trends and record tail biting events. The farm plans to continue using it.

Farm Context

• Environmental Enrichment Wooden logs are attached to the fences as manipulable objects. Oat husk pellets or straw are added to the floor daily as bedding material.
• Pigs Tail docking rate is 0%.
• Housing and Management Characteristics Stocking density is 1–1.1 m²/pig, with 15 pigs per pen. The flooring is 67% solid and 33% slatted with vacuum manure handling. Ventilation is negative-pressure with air hatches from the ceiling, and lighting runs for 8 hours per day. No outdoor access is provided. Pigs are fed liquid feed from a long trough allowing 100% of pigs to eat simultaneously. Water is provided via 2 nipples per pen.
• Management Practices Pigs are separated by gender at arrival and mixing is avoided during rearing. Both health monitoring and tail biting monitoring are carried out twice daily using the application. The intervention protocol consists of tarring bitten tails and medicating if bleeding; removing the biting pig if identified; and adding enrichment. An extra toy is added if more than 5 bitten tails are found in a pen.
• Economic Analysis 2% of pigs died due to tail biting or related illnesses. Financial losses were between €20,000 and €32,000 per year during the last two years. Carcass condemnation costs were €4.14 per pig (all reasons) and €2.53 per pig due to tail biting (January–November 2025). Feed Conversion Ratio: 2.6; Average Daily Growth: 1,020–1,030 g per day.
• Environmental Analysis The use of the application has no effect on the environment.
• Replicable Benefits and Relevance for Other EU Countries The application is free and available in English. It is simple to use, co-developed with farmers, and supports proactive tail biting control rather than reactive fixes. Data is kept private by the farm.