I feel the use of gestation crates on mother pigs is inhumane and cruel.

Iowa State University conducted a two-and-a-half year long economic comparison of gestation crates and group housing and found that “reproductive performance can be maintained or enhanced in well-managed group housing systems…without increasing labor.” Overall, the study found that “group housing…resulted in a weaned pig cost that was 11 percent less than the cost of a weaned pig from the individual stall confinement system.”

Animal welfare scientist Dr. Temple Grandin says, “We’ve got to treat animals right, and gestation stalls have got to go.” She continues, “Confining an animal for most of its life in a box in which it is not able to turn around does not provide a decent life.”

Thankfully non-profits such as Mercy For Animals campaign against these cruel practices. Click here to find out more about the Mercy For Animals campaign.

Sara Sawochka