PETA Statement: Smithfield Farms to Eliminate Gestation Crates

For Immediate Release:
January 7, 2014

Ending the use of gestation crates eliminates one of the cruelest practices on intensive pig factory farms, where sows are confined to tight metal crates for most of their lives, unable to take even one step or ever turn around. Smithfield reinstated a timeline after PETA members took action against the company. However, although Smithfield acknowledges the cruelty, the company is moving way too slowly to stop it. While consumers wait, PETAis reminding everyone that there is an easy way to stop the suffering of pigs by deciding not to eat them, as the crates are just one horrific practice among many that all cause unimaginable suffering for pigs, such as being transported in all weather extremes to slaughter, where their throats are cut while they’re still conscious. People can learn how to go vegan in three simple steps at PETA.org.