Individual gestation sow stalls have been replaced by group housing in the EU and some other jurisdictions, with evidence demonstrating that group housing produces better welfare outcomes when well managed.
Gestation sow stall reform is one of the most significant welfare policy achievements of the past two decades, benefiting millions of sows across the EU. The welfare evidence justifying the ban was compelling and is supported by subsequent research showing better welfare outcomes in well-managed group housing. Persistent challenges in group housing management — social aggression, resource competition — have been addressed through facility design and feeding system innovation rather than undermining the case for stall elimination. The remaining global use of sow stalls represents a major welfare inequality between jurisdictions.