Pig welfare by behavioural complexity ?Piglexity?

The Welfare Quality? project aims at assessing welfare individually and based on behaviour. Yet, the execution of the protocol is time-consuming, replicability is limited, and summarising the different aspects into an overall assessment of e.g. a single farm is difficult. Instead of assessing a high number of single aspects, we propose to consider complete behavioural sequences of animals in their comprehensive complexity. Depression-like negative welfare states lead to a reduction in behavioural complexity. Conversely, a high complexity in behaviour indicates good welfare. In relation to welfare assessment, the problems in keeping finishing pigs adequately are specifically relevant. Therefore, we focus on this animal category, although the methodology could be used also in other farm animal species.