Campaigners highlight cruelty of farrow crates

Animal rights campaigners will be in Lincoln city centre today calling for a ban on the use farrowing crates for sows with new-born piglets.

For some farmers the crates are economic way of keep farrowing sows indoors and make it safer to look after the animals as well as reducing accidental piglet mortality.

But Humane World for Animals UK (formerly Humane Society International UK) says the practice is cruel as the cages are so small they cannot turn round and are confined for up to five weeks every time they give birth.

The organisation will be at the War Memorial at St Benedict’s Square from 2-4pm today with its Crate Britain Tour to highlight its call for a ban on the crates and for the government to financially support farmers to adopt free-farrowing systems.

“Pigs in farrowing crates, including on farms here in Lincolnshire, endure the most restrictive confinement of any farmed animals in the UK, and they suffer physically and mentally as a result,” said Claire Bass, senior director of campaigns.

“Unable to even turn around for weeks on end, these sensitive and intelligent mothers are forced to nurse their newborn piglets through metal bars. There is no reason for this cruelty to continue when free-farrowing systems are available and proven to provide better welfare for sows and piglets. Many farmers are ready to transition away from farrowing crates, but they need the right policy and financial support from the government.”

Humane World for Animals UK figures from 2024 show are 268 intensive pig farms in the UK. Over 200,000 mother pigs on farms in the UK are subjected to confinement in farrowing crates. Lincolnshire is home to a large number of indoor pig farms, where the vast majority of sows are kept in these crates.