A gestation crate, also known as a sow stall, is a 7 ft by 2 ft[2] metal enclosure used in intensive pig farming, in which a female breeding pig (sow) may be confined during pregnancy, and in effect for most of her adult life.[3]
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Between 60 and 70 percent of sows are confined in crates during pregnancy in the United States,[4] each pregnancy lasting four months, with an average of 2.5 litters every year.[5] Sows, which can weigh 600 lbs,[6] spend most of their three or four years of adult life in crates,[6] giving birth to between five and eight litters. As the sows grow larger, they no longer fit in the crates, and must sleep on their chests, unable to turn, until they are slaughtered.[7] The crates are usually placed side by side in rows of 20 sows per row and 100 rows per shed, the floors of the crates slatted to allow excrement to fall into a pit below.
Pork producers and many veterinarians argue that gestation crates are needed because sows who are housed together in pens will fight. According to the U.S. National Pork Producers Council, the American Veterinary Medical Association "recognize[s] gestation stalls and group housing systems as appropriate for providing for the well-being of sows during pregnancy."[7] While the practice of immobilizing the animals in crates helps limit fighting, it also increases the animals' stress levels, causing other health problems. Some producers are solving this dilemma by providing opportunities for sows to exercise their inherent natural proclivities and behaviors, by developing multi-species farms that offer greater efficiencies and economic viability.
Animal welfare advocates regard the use of gestation crates as one of the most inhumane features of intensive animal production.[7] Temple Grandin of Colorado State University's Department of Animal Science — and a member of a McDonald's panel of experts who advise on industry best practice — has said: "I think gestation crates for pigs are a real problem ... I mean basically you’re asking a sow to live in an airline seat."[8] There are also other means of reducing aggression besides gestation crates, that are equally effective. These include eliminating overcrowding, not mixing pigs from different litters, providing straw or other bedding material, and providing sufficient food that not only meets nutritional needs but satisfies the appetite.[9]
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In the European Union, the crates are being phased out by 2013 after four weeks of pregnancy.[10] They are already banned in Sweden and in the UK, and will be banned in Denmark from 2014.
In the US, they have been banned in Florida since 2004, Arizona since 2006 and California since late 2008.[7] They are also being phased out in Maine and Oregon.[11] Smithfield Foods, the largest pork producer in the US, said in January 2007 that it will phase out gestation crates from its 187 piggeries over the next ten years, because of concerns from its customers, including McDonald's and several supermarket chains. However in 2009 they stated they would no longer be able to phase them out in 10 years due to low recent sales.[7]
In December 2010 it was announced that sow crates will be phased out in New Zealand by 2015.[12]
Many studies have shown that sows in crates exhibit behavior such as bar-biting, head weaving, and tongue rolling. They also show behavior that indicates learned helplessness, according to Morris, such as remaining passive when poked or when a bucket of water is thrown over them.[13] A review by the Scientific Veterinary Council of the European Commission states that repetitive "stereotypical" behaviour has been found in "every detailed study" of pigs in gestation crates, but not in any other housing systems examined [14]
Paul Sundberg, a veterinarian and vice-president of the U.S. National Pork Producers Council told The Washington Post: "Farmers treat their animals well because that's just good business. The key to sow welfare isn't whether they are kept in individual crates or group housing, but whether the system used is well managed." Sundberg said: "[S]cience tells us that she [a sow] doesn't even seem to know that she can't turn ... She wants to eat and feel safe, and she can do that very well in individual stalls."[6]
The Washington Post reports that researchers have not found sows in gestation crates to have elevated levels of stress hormones. The author writes that this suggests their overall health is not compromised. Other researchers say the pigs' behavior does indicate chronic frustration. Sows in crates bite the bars, chew even when they have no food, and press their water bottles obsessively, all reportedly signs of extreme boredom. The Post writes that a report by veterinarians for the European Union concluded that abnormal behavior in sows "develop[s] when the animal is severely or chronically frustrated. Hence their development indicates that the animal is having difficulty in coping and its welfare is poor."[6]
On Wednesday 1 December 2010, Agriculture Minister David Carter announced from 2015 onwards, sow crates will be illegal in New Zealand[15], such announcement was the product of much public debate against factory farming over recent years in New Zealand society.
A few days before giving birth, sows are moved to farrowing crates, which are slightly wider so they can lie down to nurse. Crates have 1'6" "troughs" on each side where the piglets can safely lie without being in danger of sow overlay (when the sow lays down on top of a pig).
One source reports that there no difference between piglet mortality rates in Sweden, where farrowing crates are banned, and Denmark, where they are used.[14] More recently, comparisons of piglet mortality in farrowing crates when compared with pens of 5 square metres or more, has shown that while mortality due to crushing was higher in pens, this was balanced by the higher rates of mortality in farrowing crates through piglets born dead or being savaged by the sow.[16] Some farrowing pens in Switzerland allowed for the possibility of confinement in a crate, until crates were disallowed in 2007. A comparison between these pens and those that did not allow the possibility for confinement revealed no difference in piglet mortality from any causes.[17]
Piglet survival also depends on selection pressure. Groups of piglets bred for higher survival showed no difference in mortality when weaned in farrowing crates and outdoor systems [18]
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