Pigs experience pain from multiple routine procedures and disease conditions — yet pain recognition and management on commercial farms remains inadequate.
The pain welfare gap in pig farming is large and well-documented. Procedures like castration without anesthesia cause acute pain with physiological responses (cortisol, endorphin release, vocalization, behavioral change) equivalent to those seen in surgical patients. Yet economic and attitudinal barriers prevent routine analgesia use. Producers often cite cost, time, or the belief that pigs do not feel pain as strongly as humans — beliefs contradicted by extensive neuroscientific evidence. Chronic conditions — lameness, injuries from fighting, foot lesions — cause prolonged suffering that is frequently normalized as an accepted production cost. Closing this gap requires regulatory mandates, farmer education, veterinary engagement, and consumer-driven supply chain pressure.