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Sow Stalls

Do you know where your food comes from?

Consumer choices in the supermarket do have an impact on animal welfare. It is important that as consumers we need to be better informed about where our pork products have come from.

People should look for pig-friendly pork products i.e. certified free range, bred free range or organic, or RSPCA Approved Pork. RSPCA Approved pork has the RSPCA logo on the packaging.

Pigs reared on a RSPCA-approved farm don't have their tails or teeth clipped, they are not surgically castrated and sows are not kept in farrowing crates or sow stalls. Pigs living on a RSPCA-approved farm have the freedom to express their full range of natural behaviours.  Two pork producers have been accredited by the RSPCA to date:  they are the Pastoral Pork Company, which sells free-range pork under the Otway Pork brand, and Gooralie Free-Range Pork. Otway Pork currently supplies outlets in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, and ACT.

What are the RSPCA-approved Farming Scheme standards for pigs? You can find out more by clicking here

Humane food options - its your choice!

Most pigs in Australia are raised in intensive indoor systems without access to the outdoors and without the ability to express their natural behaviours.

• Most of Australia’s 340,000 breeding pigs spend all or part of their 16-week pregnancy in a sow stall. These stalls are narrow, metal-barred crates that do not allow the sow to turn around and she can only take one small step forward or back. Sow stalls are about as big as the sow herself.

• Towards the end of her pregnancy, the sow will be moved to an even narrower crate to give birth. This farrowing crate separates the sow from her piglets but does allow the piglets access to the sow’s teats so that they can drink.

• At this stage, piglets may have their teeth clipped (to prevent damage to the teat and to each other), their tails clipped (to prevent tail biting) and/or be castrated.

• After 3-4 weeks, piglets are weaned and moved into group pens with concrete floors and no bedding – they are then slaughtered at around 6 months of age.

In the meantime, the sow is made pregnant again, returned to the sow stall and the cycle starts again

The RSPCA’s policy on sow stalls:
RSPCA Australia is opposed to the use of sow stalls because of the restrictions and adverse effects that this housing method has on sow movement, social interactions and behaviour.

What are the RSPCA's concerns with pig farming?

There are a number of animal welfare issues associated with the farming of pigs, but the RSPCA is most concerned with the housing of breeding sows in farrowing crates or sow stalls.

A standard sow stall measures just 2 m long and 60 cm wide – this is barely enough space for a full-grown sow to fit in.

Sow stalls were originally introduced to allow for housing of more sows in a smaller area (high stocking density), and to reduce the need for supervision to prevent possible bullying, aggression or competition for food. However, these savings come at a great cost to the welfare of the animal – pigs are very social animals, and preventing them from interacting with other pigs naturally results in frustration, demonstrated through stereotypical behaviours such as head swaying and biting of the metal bars. Also, because movement is severely restricted in sow stalls, the lack of exercise often leads to reduce muscle and bone strength and difficulty in standing up or lying down.

There are alternatives. Animal welfare groups argue that pregnant sows can be held successfully in groups provided that they are properly managed, have sufficient space and the ability to avoid aggressive encounters, such as through the use of get-away areas or partitions.

In intensive systems, a sow will be moved into a farrowing crate a few days before giving birth. A farrowing crate is similar to a sow stall, except it is slightly narrower and has an area around it where the piglets can move away from the sow. The sow is confined in the crate from 1-2 weeks before giving birth until the piglets are weaned, usually at 3-4 weeks of age.

Farrowing crates have been designed to maximise the survival of piglets, but this again is at a cost to the welfare of the sow. Farrowing crates do not provide nesting or bedding material for the pregnant sow, which results in stress and frustration for her. RSPCA Australia strongly believes that housing systems for farrowing sows must be designed to safeguard the welfare of both the piglets and the sow. Sows should not be held in farrowing crates for any longer than is necessary to ensure that the piglets have been successfully weaned.

Farrowing pens may allow for a suitable compromise. There are a number of experimental designs that have adapted the traditional farrowing crate to provide bedding and more flexibility and movement for the sow, while maintaining a high level of protection for the piglets. There are also extensive systems in use where farrowing takes place in individual huts with bedding, where the sow is free to move around and go in and out of the hut.

The RSPCA’s policy on farrowing crates:

Housing systems for farrowing sows must be designed and operated in such a way to safeguard the welfare of both the sow and her piglets. RSPCA Australia supports the use of farrowing systems that provide freedom of movement and meet the sow’s and piglets’ behavioural and physiological needs.

The provision of adequate bedding is particularly important for farrowing sows to facilitate nesting behaviour

Some farms singly house the sows for the first 6-10 weeks and then group-house until the young are born.
However, around a quarter of farms keep their sows in stalls from conception until the litter of piglets is born – up to 16 weeks in total. Usually, the piglets are weaned at 3-4 weeks and then the sow is made pregnant again. From the age of 8-10 months the sow is generally either pregnant or lactating (with her litter). On average a breeding sow would have 8 litters over a 4-year period. This means she may be in a stall or farrowing crate for all her adult life.

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