Gestation crates confine pregnant sows in spaces so small they cannot turn around for months, causing severe physical and psychological suffering in one of the most criticized practices in animal agriculture.
Gestation crate confinement represents one of the most severe and prolonged welfare harms in industrialized animal agriculture. A sow in a gestation crate cannot walk, turn around, or engage in any of the behaviors — rooting, nesting, social interaction — that are fundamental to pig welfare. The frustration and psychological distress of months-long near-total immobilization is evident in the high prevalence of stereotypic behaviors, which are recognized as indicators of profound welfare deprivation. Group housing systems that allow sows to move freely and express natural behaviors demonstrate that the productivity rationale for crating is not insurmountable.