Pig Gestation Crate Alternatives - Science Review

Scientific review of alternatives to gestation crates for pregnant sows, comparing welfare outcomes across housing systems.

Key Facts

Gestation crates confine individual sows for most of pregnancy in spaces too small to turn around
Group housing sows exhibit more natural social behaviour but aggression injuries can be higher without management
Electronic sow feeding (ESF) systems manage individual feeding in group housing, reducing competition
Transition to group housing in Canada and some US states follows EU bans that have been in place since 2013
Welfare outcomes in group systems can match or exceed crates when appropriate space, enrichment, and management are provided

Welfare Considerations

Gestation crates represent one of the most significant welfare restrictions in modern animal agriculture, preventing pregnant sows from turning around, socialising, or expressing natural behaviour for months at a time. Well-managed group housing systems with electronic feeding can deliver better welfare outcomes. Policy, industry, and consumer pressure are gradually shifting the global industry toward less restrictive systems.

What You Can Do

Choose pork products certified under higher welfare schemes that prohibit gestation crates
Engage with major pork retailers about their gestation crate phase-out commitments
Support Compassion in World Farming campaigns on sow welfare
Learn about the Open Wing Alliance's work extending welfare commitments to pork
Advocate for EU-equivalent gestation crate restrictions in UK post-Brexit agricultural policy