Group housing for gestating sows — replacing individual gestation crates — improves welfare by allowing natural movement and social behaviour, but requires careful management to prevent aggression and ensure all animals feed adequately.
Group housing for gestating sows represents one of the clearest welfare improvements in European livestock policy — moving from complete individual confinement to a system allowing at least some expression of natural behaviour. The welfare gains are real: movement, social engagement, and reduced stereotypic behaviour compared to crates. The management challenges are also real: introduction aggression causes injuries if not carefully managed, and without adequate feeding systems, subordinate sows may be underfed. The welfare science supports group housing as a better baseline than crates while identifying specific management practices — stable group composition, ESF systems, and appropriate flooring — that determine how much of the theoretical welfare benefit is realised in practice.