The debate over farrowing crates has focused attention on sow confinement, but comprehensive farrowing welfare encompasses nest-building, piglet survival, and maternal behaviour.
The farrowing crate debate has sometimes obscured a broader picture: welfare in farrowing systems depends on an interplay of sow mobility, piglet safety, environmental enrichment, and management quality. The crate does prevent some crushing deaths, but at the cost of completely denying the sow her strong nesting motivation and her ability to respond to piglets naturally. Loose systems require more careful design and stockmanship to achieve acceptable piglet mortality, but the welfare gain for the sow is substantial. The most advanced loose systems demonstrate that the trade-off between sow welfare and piglet mortality can be managed rather than accepted as fixed. Progress requires investment in better system design, farmer training, and research into the behavioural and management factors that determine outcomes in farrowing environments.