Selective breeding has dramatically increased litter sizes in commercial pigs, creating serious welfare problems for piglets and sows. Hyperprolific sows now routinely produce more piglets than they can rear.
The drive to maximize litter size in commercial pig production has created a welfare crisis for both piglets and sows. Piglets born into very large litters face intense competition for teat access from the first hours of life - competition they may lose because they are smaller, weaker, or born later in the birth sequence. Starvation and crushing are the most common causes of pre-weaning piglet mortality. Sows producing 17+ piglets experience immense metabolic and physical demands that accelerate body condition deterioration and reduce productive lifespan. This is a case where the breeding goal - more piglets per litter - has overshot what the sow can physically and the system can practically support, creating endemic suffering in pursuit of greater output.