Group housing for sows
By Vincent ter Beek, Pig Progress - Welfare issues concerning pig housing are becoming prominent in North America. The US and Canada are rapidly moving away from the use of gestation crates for sows – following similar developments in the European Union six years ago. In this series, Pig Progress takes a closer look, into the alternatives and into the sows’ needs.
Part 1. America’s hog industry will not sit and wait
Smithfield Foods’ 1.1 million sows do not know it yet - but their housing is soon going to change. In January, the company announced to phase out the use of gestation stalls within the next decade. Don Butler, director of government relations and public affairs for Smithfield’s livestock production subsidiary Murphy-Brown, explains more.
Read: Group housing for sows (PDF)
Source: PIG PROGRESS Volume 23, No.6 2007
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