Understanding the welfare challenges facing newborn piglets, including crushing, chilling, starvation, and routine painful procedures, and the interventions that improve survival and wellbeing.
Neonatal piglet welfare represents one of the most significant welfare challenges in livestock agriculture, combining high mortality rates with painful procedures performed without adequate pain relief. The root causes are often systemic: breeding programs that maximize litter size without corresponding increases in teat number, confinement systems that prevent natural nesting behavior and maternal movement, and economic pressures that limit the time available for individual piglet care. Improving neonatal welfare requires addressing breeding goals, housing design, procedural pain management, and the time and resources available to stockpersons for individual animal attention.