The neonatal period is the most welfare-critical phase for piglets, with high mortality rates and numerous painful interventions performed without anaesthesia in conventional systems.
The neonatal piglet welfare situation combines high mortality with routine painful interventions performed without analgesia. Teeth clipping, intended to prevent facial injuries from suckling competition, is performed within hours of birth. Tail docking, intended to prevent tail biting later in life, is typically performed in the first week. Castration of male piglets, to prevent boar taint, is performed at varying ages. All three are acutely painful procedures confirmed by physiological and behavioural assessment. The underlying drivers — large litters, competitive suckling, tail-biting risk in crowded environments, and consumer preferences — are systemic, meaning welfare improvement requires addressing root causes rather than simply adding analgesia to existing interventions.