Gestation crates confine pregnant sows so tightly they cannot turn around for up to 16 weeks, causing severe physical and psychological suffering that has driven bans across many jurisdictions.
Sow confinement in gestation crates is among the most comprehensively documented sources of severe farm animal suffering. Sows are highly motivated to move, explore, and build nests before farrowing, and complete immobilization frustrates all these drives simultaneously. Stereotypic behaviors such as repetitive bar-biting are symptomatic of psychological breakdown in an environment that cannot be escaped or modified. Physical deterioration from lack of exercise compounds the behavioral suffering. Group housing systems that provide adequate space, resource access, and management attention achieve equivalent production outcomes while restoring basic welfare. The commercial viability of alternatives makes continued use of gestation crates a choice, not a necessity.