Welfare Policy

Welfare of Animals Kept in Solitary Confinement

Solitary confinement causes severe psychological harm in social animals; whether applied to primates in research, sows in gestation crates, or isolated companion animals.

Key Facts

Social isolation causes depression, anxiety, and learned helplessness in social species
Research primates in single housing show significantly worse welfare outcomes than pair-housed animals
Sows in gestation crates cannot engage in any social behavior for months
Single-housed rabbits show higher rates of stereotypic behavior than paired animals
The EU requirement for pair-housing of laboratory mice significantly improved welfare outcomes

Welfare Considerations

Solitary confinement is one of the most consistently documented welfare harms across species. The evidence that social isolation causes profound psychological suffering in social animals is overwhelming. Legislative and policy change requiring social housing is the highest-leverage welfare intervention.

What You Can Do

Support mandatory social housing requirements for all social research animals
Advocate for gestation crate bans that require group housing for pregnant sows
Provide social companions for all social companion animals
Donate to research demonstrating the welfare benefits of social housing across species