Gestation Crates Banned

Gestation crates help protect sow’s from aggression and competition. Pigs are aggressive animals and when they are housed together in groups, they will compete for who is in charge, food, and even space. Aggressiveness is a normal behavior for pigs and when they are in gestation crates, aggression is very limited. With a sow that is housed in a group pen, “this increased fighting can result in vulva biting skin lesions and wounds on rump, shoulders, and other regions of the body as well as lameness” (Changing from Sow Gestation Crates to Pens: Problem or Opportunity). If a sow gets aggressive in the gestation crate, all she can really do is bit on the metal bar. Injuries from fighting are not likely to occur when sows are placed in gestation

In response to gestation crates, the general public and animal rights activists are not too fond of them. What they do like to see are sows with the ability to move around, which is how some states are now housing their sows because they have been banned from using gestation crates. Nine states have been banned from using gestation because of public concern. Because gestation crates have been banned, this has forced farmers to move away from gestation crates and to move forward group housing for the sows. Most people just imagine gestation crates as a place where sows are housed for most of their life and are by themselves in a stall with little movement available, almost like a jail cell. With little knowledge, many people base their opinions off of what they hear from others, see on social media, or from pictures on the Internet. The public should have better knowledge and visualization of sow housing before making an opinion. The problem with banning gestation crates is that the pigs are not being protected from aggression and injury and the chance of having a stillbirth increases. As an Animal Science major, I believe that gestation crates should be used as they provide better management, protection from other pigs, environmental protection, increases productivity, provide good animal welfare and are necessary for successful embryo implantation. Even if gestation crates could not be bigger for the sow to turn around, I would still be in favor for gestation crates. Gestation crates are ethical and should continue being used throughout the United