Farm Animal Welfare

Pig Dental Welfare and Teeth Clipping

Needle teeth clipping or grinding in newborn piglets prevents facial injuries to littermates and sow teats but causes welfare concerns about pain and stress in neonates.

Key Facts

Piglets are born with eight sharp needle teeth that can cause facial injuries during competition
Clipping causes stress and potential pain in neonatal piglets
Grinding with a dental disc is considered more welfare-appropriate than clipping
EU legislation requires teeth clipping only when there is evidence of injury
Good farrowing pen design and management can reduce the need for teeth clipping

Welfare Considerations

Teeth clipping trades neonatal procedural stress for reduced risk of facial injuries among littermates. Where good management and farrowing pen design reduce injury risk, avoiding routine teeth clipping is preferred, with intervention reserved for cases where injuries are occurring.

What You Can Do

Advocate for evidence-based teeth clipping policies that require justification
Support management approaches that reduce needle teeth injury risk without routine clipping
Choose pork from farms with policies requiring teeth clipping only when injuries are occurring