Sow Housing Welfare 2025: Group Housing Science and Standards

A 2025 science and standards update on group housing for pregnant sows, including welfare evidence, management challenges, and policy progress.

Key Facts

Individual gestation stalls (sow stalls) confine pregnant sows in metal crates where they cannot turn around — they were banned in the UK in 1999, making UK pig welfare ahead of the global average.
Despite the UK ban, sow stall-produced pork is still imported into the UK from countries without equivalent restrictions — UK consumers unknowingly purchase pork raised in conditions illegal domestically.
The EU began phasing out individual gestation stalls in 2013 — but enforcement has been inconsistent, with some member states receiving time extensions.
Group housing of pregnant sows requires careful management — sow aggression, competitive feeding, and lameness in group systems require proactive management to achieve welfare benefits over stalls.
Electronic sow feeding (ESF) systems allow individual feeding in group housing — they are the most effective technical solution for managing competitive feeding while maintaining group social benefits.
2025 research from Wageningen shows that enriched group housing with sufficient space (>3m²/sow), ESF, and rooting substrate achieves welfare outcomes significantly better than either stalls or unenriched groups.
Outdoor pig farming for gestating sows provides the highest welfare outcomes — freedom of movement, rooting substrate, and natural social grouping are achievable in well-managed outdoor systems.

Welfare Considerations

Sow housing welfare has advanced significantly through the UK stall ban, but the import of sow stall-raised pork undermines domestic standards. Consumers should choose RSPCA Assured, outdoor-reared, or free-range pork that requires group housing for pregnant sows. Advocate for import standards equivalent to UK domestic welfare law — this is the most significant policy gap in UK pig welfare.

What You Can Do

Choose RSPCA Assured, outdoor-reared, or free-range pork that requires group gestation housing
Advocate for UK import standards requiring equivalent welfare to domestic regulations for pork products
Support Compassion in World Farming's End the Cage Age and sow housing campaigns globally
Reduce pork consumption or source from domestic free-range systems to support higher-welfare sow management