Gestation crates confine pregnant sows in spaces too small to turn around. Understanding the progress toward phase-out and remaining challenges tracks one of the most significant welfare reforms in agriculture.
Gestation crates represent one of the most severe and widespread welfare violations in modern animal agriculture. Pregnant sows confined for months in spaces too small to turn around cannot walk, explore, socially interact or exhibit any natural behaviour. Muscle atrophy, lameness, pressure sores and psychological distress are documented welfare consequences. The scale of the problem was enormous: an estimated 6 million sows in the US alone were kept in gestation crates before corporate pledge campaigns began driving change. Progress has been substantial but uneven: pledges have driven transition in some supply chains while small and mid-scale producers lag. California Prop 12 creates binding market requirements regardless of production location, creating a significant structural incentive for nationwide transition.