The Tripura government has prohibited the manufacture, sale, and use of unscientific gestation and farrowing crates in pig farming.

Animal Resources Development Department’s Special Secretary, K Sasikumar, in a notification said that comfortable and good housing is the right of all domesticated animals, which directly impacts their overall health, psychology and reproduction.

The use of improper gestation and farrowing crates confines the sow in a restricted area without providing opportunity for movement, resulting in extreme discomfort and stress, which make the animal vulnerable to diseases, said an official of ARD.

Sasikumar said that as per the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, it is cruelty and a punishable offence if anyone keeps or confines any animal in any cage or other receptacle which does not measure sufficiently in height, length and breadth to permit the animal a reasonable opportunity for movement.

“Therefore considering the welfare of animals (pig) and to prevent adverse effect of the use of gestation and farrowing crates for pigs, the Government is hereby pleased to prohibit the manufacture, sale and use of both gestation and farrowing crates for pigs within the state of Tripura with immediate effect,” the notification said.

The NGO, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, said that the Tripura government and 26 other state government and union territory authorities took similar steps.

The other states that issued directions against the housing of pigs in these contraptions include, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan,Telangana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and most of the northeastern states.

PETA India Advocacy Officer Farhat Ul Ain in a statement said that pigs are intelligent animals and protective mothers who form bonds with their young when unrestricted.

“Their confinement to these cramped crates and the ultimate separation from their piglets cause them tremendous grief and agony. Pigs are also transported in cramped trucks to slaughterhouses, where they are stabbed in the chest, frequently after being hit on the head with a hammer. PETA India reminds everyone that they can help pigs and other animals by refusing to eat them,” said Farhat Ul Ain.

The statement said that gestation crates (aka “sow stalls”) are metal cages, essentially the size of a pig, with concrete or slatted floors causing the pigs are unable to turn around or even stand up without difficulty. These devices confine pregnant sows, who are typically transferred to farrowing crates to give birth and are kept in them until their piglets are taken away.

Gestation and farrowing crates deny mother pigs everything natural and important to them, such as opportunities to forage, build a nest for their young, socialise with other pigs, and regulate their body temperature (such as by wallowing in mud).

The extreme stress and frustration caused by this severe confinement results in abnormal behaviour, such as continually biting at the enclosure bars or “chewing” the air, the statement said.

*With Agency Inputs