Pre-weaning piglet mortality and adult pig mortality in commercial systems represent major welfare failures at scale. Understanding the causes and evidence-based prevention strategies is essential for improving welfare across the pork supply chain.
Pig mortality data provides a direct window into welfare failures at scale: each death represents the endpoint of a welfare problem that began with illness, injury, or developmental compromise. Pre-weaning piglet mortality is highest in hyperprolific sow lines where large litter sizes have been selected at the expense of individual piglet viability; the welfare of additional piglets born too small or weak to survive profitably must be weighed against the economic benefit of larger litters. Farrowing crate management is a welfare trade-off where the evidence favours loose housing systems with appropriate nest-building material, adequate pen size, and stockperson attention to vulnerable piglets in the critical first hours. Reducing piglet mortality through welfare-centred management — split suckling, cross-fostering on viable piglets only, warmth provision, and timely euthanasia — improves outcomes without requiring crate confinement.