Decades of scientific research have established the welfare harms of gestation crate confinement for pigs, yet the practice persists in much of the world.
The scientific evidence against gestation crates is overwhelming. Neurological studies show frustration and stress responses in crated animals. Behavioral research documents the impossibility of meeting basic needs — turning around, investigating the environment, building nesting structures before farrowing — in crate conditions. Physiological studies confirm chronic stress. The occasional critique that loose housing causes more injuries misses the welfare forest for the trees: the freedom to express behavior, even with some social conflict, produces better overall welfare than absolute physical restriction. Policy change lags dramatically behind the science.