Housing gestating sows in groups rather than individual stalls significantly improves welfare by allowing social interaction, movement, and natural behaviour expression.
The transition from individual gestation stalls to group housing represents one of the most significant welfare improvements achieved by EU agricultural legislation. Individual stalls — confining sows for up to 15 weeks in a space barely larger than the animal — prevented virtually all natural behaviour including turning around, social interaction, and normal locomotion. Group housing systems allow movement, social interaction, and the expression of a wider behavioural repertoire. The welfare improvement is real and substantial, though group housing brings its own management challenges around social aggression that require appropriate husbandry to address.