Gestation crates confine pregnant pigs for most of their lives, causing significant welfare harms that have driven legislative reform across many jurisdictions.
Gestation crates cause profound welfare harm by preventing sows from performing fundamental behaviors - they cannot turn around, walk more than a step, or engage in normal social behavior. Forced immobility causes muscle weakness, cardiovascular problems, and psychological suffering evidenced by the high rates of stereotypic behaviors in crated sows. The system was designed to prevent aggression in group housing, but the welfare solution of eliminating grouping is worse than the problem being addressed. Group housing with appropriate management can achieve better welfare outcomes, and regulatory reform has demonstrated that transition is feasible at industry scale.