Group housing for gestating sows was mandated in the EU in 2013 and offers welfare benefits over individual gestation stalls, but introduces new management challenges.
Group gestation housing represents a significant welfare improvement over individual stall confinement, which is among the most welfare-compromising systems in commercial livestock production. Sows in stalls cannot perform motivated behaviours including rooting, walking, and exploring, causing chronic frustration and stereotypic bar-biting. Group housing restores some of these freedoms but introduces aggression risks, particularly at feeding. Well-managed group systems with adequate space, ESF technology, and careful social management deliver substantially better welfare than stalls while maintaining production efficiency.