High culling rates in commercial pig production reduce sow lifetime welfare by limiting animals to the most productive but most demanding stages of their lives.
High culling rates in commercial pig production mean that sows typically live only 3-4 productive years before being slaughtered - often when they develop the lameness or reproductive problems that result partly from their intensive productive life. This creates a welfare pattern where animals experience their most demanding and potentially most compromising production stages without the relief of reduced demands in later life. Operations that invest in sow welfare - appropriate nutrition, lameness prevention and treatment, comfortable housing - achieve longer productive lifespans as a result, demonstrating that welfare investment and extended longevity are mutually reinforcing.