A sow's miserable life trapped in a narrow crate: the EU has banned it, when will Taiwan, China follow suit?
"Banning the use of gestation crates for pigs" is already a global trend! Taiwan Animal Society Research Society held a press conference today (10) titled "Pleading for the Lives of 600,000 Mother Pigs," pointing out that compared with the EU, which has long explicitly banned the use of gestation crates throughout the entire raising of sows, Taiwan's related farm animal welfare regulations and laws seem to still be lagging behind; it therefore called on the government to plan as soon as possible a timetable to "phase out gestation crates" and to guide farmers in building environmentally friendly pig housing.
In response, Jiang Wenquan, section chief of the Animal Protection Section of the Animal Husbandry Department of the Council of Agriculture, said that the Council of Agriculture is actively drafting "definitions and guidelines for a pig-friendly production system," and if there are no objections upon review by the Animal Protection Advisory Committee, it is expected to issue an official notice in September this year so that operators have something to follow. However, Jiang Wenquan admitted frankly that because farmers' costs are involved, "the Council of Agriculture gives priority to encouraging farmers to transition voluntarily and will not force operators to comply through legal requirements."
The stress of "gestation crates": in their entire lives, sows can only get up, lie down, and crouch
What exactly is the controversy over "gestation crates"? Chen Yumin, director of the Taiwan Animal Society Research Society, explained that according to Taiwan's pig-rearing methods, during the four months of a sow's pregnancy, she can only stay in a gestation crate. But the size of a "gestation crate" is often similar to the sow's body size: "2 m long and 0.6 to 0.7 m wide." The sow can only get up, lie down, and crouch, and is completely unable to move; the sow's skin may even be injured because of rubbing against the iron bars.
The Taiwan Animal Research Society pointed out that on pig farms that use "gestation crates" to raise sows, it is often found that sows display animal behaviors such as constantly biting the bars and performing sham chewing, "which means the sows are experiencing stress and anxiety." And sows lying prone on damp ground for long periods also increases the probability of urinary tract inflammation in sows.
