Piglet castration is performed on millions of male pigs annually to prevent boar taint in meat. The welfare cost of castration without analgesia is substantial and increasingly regulated.
Piglet castration without analgesia inflicts significant, preventable pain on hundreds of millions of animals annually. The acute pain of the procedure and the prolonged post-operative pain period are both well documented. Alternatives exist and are proven: immunocastration eliminates boar taint without surgery, and improved detection technology can screen carcasses after slaughter. The primary barrier to eliminating surgical castration without analgesia is economic inertia and consumer unfamiliarity with alternatives, not technical impossibility.