Farm Animal Welfare

Pig Sow Longevity and Reproductive Welfare

How improving sow longevity reduces lifetime suffering and increases sustainable production.

Key Facts

Most sows are culled after 3-4 litters, often due to lameness, reproductive failure, or injuries
Longer-lived sows have lower per-piglet welfare cost and produce more consistent, healthy litters
Genetic selection, housing design, and nutrition management all influence sow productive life
Culling decisions should be based on welfare as well as productivity criteria

Welfare Considerations

Short sow productive lives reflect high levels of chronic pain, injury, and reproductive stress in intensive systems. Improving sow longevity is both a welfare and sustainability goal - longer-lived sows require fewer replacements and have higher lifetime efficiency.

What You Can Do

Support producers using sow longevity as a welfare metric in certification schemes
Advocate for body condition scoring and lameness assessment as routine welfare audits
Choose pork from producers who publish sow mortality and culling rate data