Gestation crates confine breeding sows for most of their reproductive lives, causing severe welfare harm — driving one of the most significant reform campaigns in farm animal welfare history.
The gestation crate represents one of the most extreme behavioral restriction systems in contemporary animal agriculture. Sows spend approximately 90% of their reproductive lives unable to turn around, take more than one step in any direction, or engage in any of the natural behaviors that motivate them strongly — nesting, rooting, social interaction. The neurological and psychological harm from prolonged behavioral restriction is well-documented: stereotypic behaviors that persist even when sows are released to group housing demonstrate that the underlying welfare harm leaves lasting effects. The global phase-out of gestation crates, while incomplete, represents one of the largest welfare improvements in farm animal history.