Routine piglet processing procedures in the first week of life include castration, tail docking, teeth clipping, iron injection, and ear notching. Each procedure causes acute pain; without anaesthesia or analgesia, piglets show vocalisation, escape behaviour, and physiological stress responses. EU legislation prohibits routine castration without anaesthesia after 2022. Tail docking is permitted only where farms demonstrate tail-biting risk cannot be managed otherwise. Research shows meloxicam and local anaesthesia significantly reduce pain indicators during castration. Immunocastration eliminates surgical castration while maintaining welfare benefits. Breeding programmes selecting for boar taint-free genetics may eventually eliminate castration need.