Sow housing: opportunities, constraints, and unknowns.

As Webster has stated, we have real opportunities to provide incremental improvements to a whole range of welfare factors. We need a disciplined approach that takes into account the skills of farmers, veterinarians, and the whole range of other specialists involved in animal agriculture. Improvement is best based on a model of discovery, transparency, and dialogue. Combative models impede discovery and dialogue, and the animals are the most likely to suffer when we create such a scenario. Veterinarians have a real opportunity to aid swine farms in identifying opportunities and allowing for a transparent portrayal of activities on the farm.