Imagine that you have just given birth. You have been locked inside a cage that restricts your movement. You cannot reach your arms out to hold your baby, the only contact is your nipples for feeding. This is how a farrowing crate restricts a sow and her piglets. Pig farrowing crates are barred metal crates within a pen where pregnant sows are placed shortly before giving birth. Farrowing crates prevent the sows from turning around and only allow them to move a little forward and backward in such a small 20 square feet space. Please sign this petition to demand that the U.S. bans this horrific farming method that turns mother pigs into miserable fertility machines.

The farrowing crate violates a pig's freedom to express normal behavior. This freedom is one of the "Five Freedoms", which are five identified basic rights used to guide U.S. animal welfare. Animal welfare experts also believe farrowing crates threaten two other Freedoms - freedom from discomfort and freedom from fear and distress. 

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has recently released a comprehensive report that backs up these concerns. The report highlights farrowing crates as a particularly cruel aspect of pigs’ living conditions. Other countries including Sweden, and Switzerland have already banned the use of farrowing crates, and it's time for us to join them. 

Please sign this petition demanding that we move forward and ban this inhumane practice. If enough people sign, it will send a clear message that the public believes farrowing crates have no place in a society that cares about animal welfare.