28 Sept 2026
Welfare organisations warned shifting to temporary rather than free farrowing systems would replace “one bad system with another”.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
Welfare organisations tell Defra temporary crating around birth still imposes “extreme and unacceptable behavioural restrictions”.
Defra has faced fresh calls to issue a full ban on all routine crating of mother pigs.
In the Animal Welfare Strategy published last year, the Government said it will work with the industry to help transition away from the use of farrowing crates to alternative systems – either “flexible” farrowing where sows are confined for the days immediately around giving birth or free farrowing with no confinement.
But a coalition of welfare organisations, Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), the RSPCA, Animal Equality UK, OneKind, Humane World for Animals, Anima and Four Paws, has called on the department to move directly to requiring free farrowing systems.
In an open letter to Defra, the group argued temporary crating around birth still imposes “extreme and unacceptable behavioural restrictions” and fails to meet core welfare needs of both sows and piglets.
The group cited evidence suggesting piglet mortality is comparable or lower in appropriately sized and designed free farrowing systems.
They also argued free farrowing systems have a relatively minimal impact on costs and that moving to temporary crates first “creates a serious stranded-asset risk”.
CIWF UK head Anthony Field said: “Replacing farrowing crates with temporary crates is not the reform mother pigs need – it would be a short-sighted move that would not deliver the commitment to end the cage age.
“Replacing one bad system with another would not sufficiently improve the welfare of mother pigs and risks amounting to welfare washing.
“Moving to temporary crates will also not meet the expectations of the UK public, who have been calling for an end to cages for mother pigs for decades – they overwhelmingly want to see a ban on caging mother pigs, not a rebranded version of the same cruelty.
“The Government must back free farrowing by ultimately introducing legislation that delivers a genuine cage-free future for pigs.”
The BVA and Pig Veterinary Society led calls for bans on farrowing crates last year, recommending a transition period of up to 15 years for producers to shift to either free farrowing or adaptive farrowing accommodation with significantly reduced confinement time for sows.