Maple Leaf Foods says breeding sows in company-owned barns will have transitioned to open sow housing by the end of the year. The company had pledged to end its use of gestation crates in 2014 but said it would take a decade.
Accomplishing it three years earlier than planned shows the company’s “commitment to world-class animal care,” said Maple Leaf, which raises 40 per cent of the pigs it slaughters.
It also said open sow housing in its company barns is more advanced as it offers “various spaces that support sows’ desires to choose when to play, to socialize, to eat and to rest.”
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The barns also have water misters for use in hot weather and windows to allow in natural light.
