Sow welfare encompasses the specific challenges facing breeding female pigs, including gestation and farrowing management, longevity, and the high reproductive demands placed on modern breeding lines.
Modern sow genetics create welfare tensions: high litter sizes improve productivity but increase sow exhaustion, pre-farrowing mortality risk, and competition among piglets for teats. The sow's intense pre-farrowing nesting motivation is frustrated by farrowing crates, causing visible behavioural distress. Sow longevity has declined as hyperprolific breeding prioritises productivity over durability. Welfare improvements for sows include providing nesting materials, transitioning away from farrowing crates, selecting for appropriate litter sizes that sows can manage, and extending productive lifespans through better management.