Animal Science: Gestation Crates

A gestation crate is a pen where the sow is held away from other pigs during pregnancy. The pen is usually 2 foot by 7 foot. This allows for individualized attention and an area free of the close quarters of the general housing area. The farrowing crate is a two pen system where the sow is on one side of bars and the piglets on another. This is so the mother doesn’t accidentally step or roll on the young, and so the farmer can assist in the births, as well as heat/cool each area separately (Allan Schinckel, n.d.). The pens allow for the pigs to move forward and back a few inches, but not turn around. They are also big enough for the sows to lay down. Pork producers say the pens provide security for the sows and produce “bigger litters, heavier piglets and reduced workforce costs” (Jackson & Marx, 2016). The industry says that if the sows are placed together in communal settings they will fight for food and establish a hierarchy where the weakest may not eat at all. If they are in the crates, they say research shows that “feed can be precisely calibrated to the pig's stage in her life cycle, and workers can easily track the well-being of individuals” (Jackson & Marx, 2016).

According to the Humane Society, who in 2002 helped establish legislation abolishing the crates in Florida, as the fourth smartest animal on the planet, it isn’t right pigs be kept in the pens. They say the pigs “chew on the bars, wave their heads incessantly back and forth, or lie on the pavement in an apparent state of dejection. Nearly immobilized, the pigs spend months staring ahead, waiting to be fed, likely going out of their minds” (Humane Society of the United States, 2017). The general idea is that you wouldn’t want to be stuck in a box, so why would you do it to a pig? The AASV edited their opinion in 2012 from stating an approval to the crates to being vaguer in their description, not saying they didn’t agree with them, but not stating they did either (American Association of Swine Veterinarians, 2015).

My opinion is that there is no reason the crates can’t be bigger other than money. While pork is one of the major meats consumed worldwide, it doesn’t mean that we need to treat the animals with less respect than we would our cattle or chickens. Even chickens and rabbits in pens have enough room to move about. I do believe it is safer to have a division between the sows and piglets, especially when they are too young to get out of the way, but I also think the Humane Society and the very public outcry against the crates needs to be put into perspective: these are food sources. While they probably do feel discomfort and agitation, the Humane Society’s website is anthropomorphizing an animal who most of us eat at every weekend breakfast and most school lunches. At some point, you have to take a step back or you would not be able to slaughter and eat them.

*update 9/26/17*

After getting a first-hand look at gestation crates on a farm in Arnhem, Netherlands, I saw a great design alternative: the gestation crate opens up into a larger enclosure. This allows the mother to walk backwards into a larger pen where she can lay down and walk about while keeping the piglets separate and safe. I also saw what happens when you keep multiple sows together: they fought and bit at each other. 

References

Allan Schinckel, P. (n.d.). Gestation and Farrowing Crates for Pigs. Retrieved April 4, 2017, from Purdue Agriculture Food Animal Education Network: http://www.ansc.purdue.edu/faen/gest%20crates.html

American Association of Swine Veterinarians. (2015, March 30). Sow Housing. Retrieved from American Association of Swine Veterinarians: https://www.aasv.org/aasv/Sow_Housing_102012.htm

Humane Society of the United States. (2017). Crammed into Gestation Crates. Retrieved from Humane Society of the United States: http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/confinement_farm/facts/gestation_crates.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

Jackson, D., & Marx, G. (2016, August 3). Pork producers defend gestation crates, but consumers demand change. Retrieved from Chicago Tribune: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/watchdog/pork/ct-pig-farms-gestation-crates-met-20160802-story.html