Pregnant Sow Housing
The American Veterinary Medical Association supports the use of
sow housing configurations that:
- Minimize aggression and competition between sows;
- Protect sows from detrimental effects associated with environmental
extremes, particularly temperature extremes;
- Reduce exposure to hazards that result in injuries;
- Provide every animal with daily access to appropriate food and
water; and
- Facilitate observation of individual sow appetite, respiratory
rate, urination and defecation, and reproductive status by caretakers.
Current scientific literature indicates that individual gestation
stalls meet each of the aforementioned criteria, provided the appropriate
level of stockmanship is administered.
Prepared by the AASV Pig Welfare Committee and
approved by the AVMA HOD July 2002
