Gestation crates — individual metal stalls that confine pregnant sows for the duration of their 16-week pregnancy — are banned or being phased out in many countries. Understanding the welfare benefits and management challenges of alternatives is essential.
Gestation crates cause severe and chronic welfare impairment. Sows confined for 16 weeks cannot perform natural locomotion, social behaviour, rooting, or postural adjustment. The behavioural restriction causes documented psychological distress, including stereotypic bar-biting and repetitive head movements. Limb weakness from inactivity compounds physical welfare costs. Group housing alternatives are not without welfare challenges — aggression between sows can cause injuries — but well-managed group systems with appropriate space allowances, stable social groups, and adequate feeding provision demonstrate substantially better welfare outcomes than crates. The transition requires investment in management skills and facility redesign but is both practically and economically achievable, as demonstrated by thousands of farms that have made the switch.