Farm Animals

Free Farrowing Systems: Welfare Improvements

Free farrowing systems that allow sows to farrow without confinement represent a significant welfare advance over conventional farrowing crates.

Key Facts

Conventional farrowing crates confine sows so tightly they cannot turn around for 4-6 weeks
Farrowing crates reduce piglet crushing but at the cost of severe sow welfare
Free farrowing systems like the PigSAFE pen allow sow movement while protecting piglets
Piglet mortality in well-designed free farrowing systems matches crated systems
Sweden banned farrowing crates in 1988 and demonstrated viable free farrowing production

Welfare Considerations

Sows confined in farrowing crates cannot express nesting behaviour before birth, a strong instinctive drive whose frustration causes significant distress. They cannot investigate their piglets freely or respond to them appropriately, creating abnormal mother-offspring interactions. The inability to change position causes pressure sores and limb problems. Free farrowing systems address these welfare problems while protecting piglets through good pen design.

What You Can Do

Choose pork products from free farrowing systems where available
Support welfare labels that specify free farrowing standards
Advocate for farrowing crate bans equivalent to Sweden in other countries
Back producer transition support for free farrowing system adoption
Support research into free farrowing system design and management