By Nick Engelfried
Imagine being trapped in a box so small you are unable to turn around. You struggle to get free, but every movement is constrained by unforgiving metal bars. Now picture being confined to this same tiny space for four whole months. This is the horrifying reality facing millions of pregnant sows held in “gestation crates” during their pregnancies in the factory farming industry.

Of the many devices used to hold animals in tiny quarters on factory farms, gestation crates are among the cruelest. Pregnant female pigs are routinely kept in these cramped cages while pregnant, a practice that treats them like mere reproductive machines rather than living, sentient animals. Toward the end of their pregnancy the sows are moved to similarly restrictive “farrowing crates.” And, after giving birth, they are quickly impregnated and confined to gestation crates again.

A typical gestation crate measures just two feet wide and seven feet long–so small the sow inside is prevented from even turning fully around. Unsurprisingly, the experience of being repeatedly confined in such small spaces for months on end leaves pigs physically and psychologically scarred. They frequently suffer from weak bones, overgrown hooves, and urinary tract infections, among other ailments. However, the largely invisible emotional damage may be an even worse form of torture.

Pigs are extremely smart, social mammals with a level of intelligence similar to that of a dog. They naturally spend much of their time foraging for food, wallowing in mud baths, and interacting with other pigs, behaviors that are impossible within the tiny confines of a gestation crate. It seems safe to say most people in the U.S. would find it unacceptable to keep a dog under such conditions, yet affected pigs likely suffer just as much as would our canine companions. Fortunately, public awareness of the cruelty of gestation crates is growing.

The last several years have seen animal advocates win multiple important policy victories against gestation crates–although ensuring new policies are firmly adhered to can be challenging. Thanks to years of advocacy from concerned people, at least eleven U.S. states have passed laws or regulations intended to phase out the use of gestation crates. Federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have upheld state-level gestation crate bans, sending the message that states have the right to ensure humane agricultural practices. There has also been progress in Europe, with gestation crate bans in place across the European Union and in the U.K.

The case of Ohio’s state-level gestation crate ban provides a particularly instructive example of how strategic animal advocacy can lead to real progress, even in a place with a long history of intensive animal agriculture.

In 2010, a coalition of animal rights groups in Ohio gathered over 650,000 signatures to place a statewide initiative banning gestation crates on the ballot. This put the farming industry on notice that Ohioans are no longer willing to tolerate the cruel practice, and major pork farming groups came to the table to work out a compromise that would avoid a prolonged fight for votes. The result was a gestation crate ban that officially went into effect at the start of this year.

Other campaigns against gestation crates have focused on pressuring large corporations directly, with promising results in some cases. Last year, major restaurant chains Denny’s and IHOP pledged to stop sourcing meat from farms that use gestation crates, joining a list of other companies that include Delaware North, Conagra, and Compass Group. However, while corporate pledges are a good first step, it has proved difficult to get some major companies to follow through on their commitments.

Last year, the organization Animal Equality released video footage seeming to show gestation crates still in use at a Kansas farm that supplies grocery retailer group Ahold Delhaize. This is particularly concerning, because Ahold Delhaize pledged to eliminate gestation crates and other cruel cages from its supply chain back in 2016. The findings from Animal Equality seem to indicate the company has not made much progress toward this commitment, underscoring the difficulty of getting corporate players to adhere to their word.

In fact, Animal Equality estimates approximately 60 percent of breeding sows in the U.S. are still kept in gestation crates. This means millions of pigs are being forced to endure unimaginable conditions for profit, month after month. Eliminating this practice must be a priority for the movement to make farming more humane.

It is important to acknowledge that getting rid of gestation crates represents, by itself, only one small step toward a food system that works for animals, people, and the environment. Eliminating these cruel cages will not ensure the humane treatment of pigs in factory farming, or fundamentally change a system in which animals are treated as mere commodities without rights or needs of their own. However, when gestation crates are finally gone for good, it will mean the end of one of the most blatantly cruel practices in animal agriculture. That’s a goal worth fighting for.

Although gestation crates still dominate pig farming in the U.S., the tireless work of countless ordinary people means we are now at a point where the end of this horrific practice could be within reach. One strategy for moving forward is to grow the number of states enacting gestation crate bans, through the legislative or ballot initiative processes. Holding corporations accountable to their gestation crate-free commitments is also important–as is exposing violations where they occur.

Eliminating the use of gestation crates in the United States and around the world won’t be easy. However, progress in Europe and in some U.S. states shows victory is possible. With the help of people everywhere who care about the humane treatment of animals, we can see a day when no more pigs will be confined for months on end to these cruel, barren cages.

Photo credit: Mercy for Animals MFA

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Nick Engelfried Writes About Animals, the Environment, and Conservation for the ForceChange network