Lies, lies, lies: How Compass Group is failing pregnant pigs

TAKE ACTION FOR PREGNANT PIGS: animalequality.org/action/compass

Compass Group promised to end the use of crates for mother pigs 10 years ago. Instead of fulfilling its commitment, Compass weakened it again and again and now refuses to make any meaningful progress to stop forcing mother pigs to be locked in crates that are barely bigger than their bodies.

Gestation crates are so cruel they are banned in ten states in the U.S. – Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon and Rhode Island – as well as in the United Kingdom and Sweden. Compass chooses to ignore this cruelty.

Over 100 companies in the U.S. have committed to banning gestation crates including Aramark, Nestlé, Campbell’s, and Kraft Heinz. Even some pet food companies have made meaningful commitments to end the use of gestation crates.

Compass Group has broken its promise to you, the animals, and the companies it works with. We can’t let them continue to ignore mother pigs who are suffering in crates. These animals need us to fight for them.

6 MILLION PIGS ARE IN GESTATION CRATES
In the U.S. pig industry, a majority of the 6 million female pigs are confined in a gestation crate. These metal crates where mother pigs are often kept for the majority of their pregnancies for up to 4 months. After their piglets are weaned and taken away from them, they are forced into these crates again to repeat the painful cycle.

CRUELEST FORMS OF CONFINEMENT
These 7-by-2-foot crates take a large physical and mental toll on the animals. In these crates, pigs are unable to walk, turn around, or even stand comfortably. Beneath them are hard floors with slats for the urine and feces to fall through before collecting in giant outdoor waste lagoons. Professor Ian Duncan, a scholar of animal welfare at the University of Guelph, has described it as “one of the cruelest forms of confinement devised by humankind.”

THEY CAN’T EVEN TURN AROUND
Scientific research shows that gestation crates cause physical and psychological suffering to sows, including lameness due to weak bones and muscles, abrasion injuries, cardiovascular problems, overgrown hooves, digestive problems, and urinary tract problems. It’s no wonder, they are crammed into filthy sheds in cages where they can’t turn around, for months at a time.

TAKE ACTION FOR PREGNANT PIGS: animalequality.org/action/compass