Farrowing crates confine sows during and after birth to prevent them from crushing piglets. The practice is highly controversial because it causes significant suffering while addressing a genuine management problem.
The farrowing crate debate encapsulates the fundamental tension in animal welfare reform: a practice that causes clear and significant suffering to one animal — the sow — is defended on the grounds that it prevents suffering and death in other animals — the piglets. The evidence from countries like Sweden and Norway that have eliminated farrowing crates while maintaining viable pig production suggests this is a false trade-off when free-farrowing systems are well-designed and managed. The welfare cost of confining sows during farrowing — preventing nest building, preventing normal movement, causing chronic frustration — is not a necessary feature of pig farming but a consequence of prioritizing management simplicity over animal welfare.