The aim of the research carried out in the field of animal welfare is to pursue high-quality scientific projects designed to achieve sustainable improvements in specific areas. The impact of research relating to animal welfare can be intensified by identifying parts of the population in which there is a lack of understanding of the animal’s needs.

In the past, the focus in pig farming was on producing as many piglets per litter as possible. This resulted in litters that increasingly contained too many piglets, and these surplus piglets were increasingly reared using artificial systems. When this equipment was introduced, it was not known how the piglets would respond to being brought up without a mother. Roland Weber and his team have investigated the resulting research aspects.