Farrowing crates restrict sow movement during and after birth to prevent piglet crushing, but they prevent natural nesting behavior and impose significant welfare costs on sows. Their continued use is one of the most contested issues in farm animal welfare.
Farrowing crates create a genuine welfare dilemma. The sow's welfare - her ability to express highly motivated nesting behavior, turn around, and engage normally with her piglets - is severely compromised. The repeated confinement across multiple reproductive cycles accumulates into significant welfare harm across a sow's productive life. However, unrestricted loose farrowing systems genuinely increase piglet crushing deaths, creating a trade-off between sow and piglet welfare. The availability of partial-confinement systems (farrowing pens with optional crating, anti-crushing bars) that reduce piglet mortality while allowing more sow movement demonstrates that better solutions exist - the barrier is adoption cost rather than technical impossibility.