Delhi govt bans use of gestation crates in pig farming

Officials said the department was acting on requests made by animal rights organisations such as PETA India and the Mercy for Animals India Foundation.

Delhi’s animal husbandry department has banned the use of gestation or farrowing crates used for pig farming, asking all deputy directors, district animal husbandry officers, and veterinary officers of the animal husbandry unit to inspect piggeries in their jurisdictions and to ensure compliance. These crates, also known as sow stalls, can only fit one pig and are often compact, not allowing the animal to move or even stand upright.

Pig farming (HT Photo)

The circular, dated June 21, directs penal action under Section 11(1)(e) of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, which prohibits keeping any animal in a receptacle that does not offer a reasonable opportunity for movement, such as these crates. “You are directed to ensure that the piggery farm under your jurisdiction, if any, is not using gestation and farrowing crates. If any farmer or farm is found using them, penal action should be taken against the farmer or farm under Section 11(1)(e) of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960..” it says.

Officials said the department was acting on requests made by animal rights organisations such as PETA India and the Mercy for Animals India Foundation. Recently, similar circulars prohibiting the use of gestation and farrowing crates or requiring the enforcement of this law have also been issued by the governments of Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan following similar appeals made by PETA India.

“We applaud the Delhi government for taking this step, which could spare countless pigs’ severe confinement in crates,” said PETA India’s advocacy associate Farhat Ul Ain. “In their natural surroundings, pigs are social, playful, protective animals who bond with their babies, so being held captive in these restrictive crates causes them immeasurable suffering,” Ul Ain said, adding most gestation crates are metal cages with a concrete floor and the animal is unable to move, turn around or stand up.

“They’re used to confine pregnant pigs, who are typically transferred to farrowing crates to give birth and are kept in them until their piglets are taken away. Farrowing crates are fundamentally the same as gestation crates, except that they contain small side compartments for piglets.”