Pre-slaughter mortality in commercial pig farming represents millions of individual deaths annually from disease, injury, and management failures that reflect the welfare costs of intensive production.
The pre-slaughter mortality statistics in pig farming represent millions of individual animals dying in suboptimal conditions before reaching the slaughter point. Piglets crushed by sows die suddenly or slowly from injuries. Piglets dying from diarrhea experience the same dehydration and electrolyte imbalance distress as any young animal with severe gastroenteritis. Finishing pigs dying from sudden death syndrome experience acute cardiac failure. Tail biting victims experience the pain of progressive wound infliction by pen-mates in a system designed to prevent the behaviors that caused the initial aggression. The emergency euthanasia of non-viable pigs on-farm involves methods whose welfare may not be optimal under stressful farm conditions.