Farrowing crates prevent piglet crushing deaths but severely restrict sow movement for several weeks, and the welfare trade-offs are the subject of ongoing scientific and policy debate.
The farrowing crate debate illustrates the genuine complexity of animal welfare trade-offs. Piglet welfare (reduced crushing mortality) and sow welfare (freedom of movement, expression of maternal behaviour) are in direct tension. The welfare science is moving away from a simple 'crates are bad' conclusion toward 'well-designed freedom farrowing pens can achieve both sow and piglet welfare simultaneously'. Freedom farrowing pens with moveable frames that prevent crushing during the first few days but allow free movement thereafter can achieve very low piglet mortality without the extreme sow welfare costs of full confinement. The welfare goal is systems that protect both sow and piglet welfare rather than treating them as inevitably competing.