Canada Fights Crates

Last week, Canadians for Ethical Treatment of Food Animals announced a new partnership with the Manitoba chapter of the National Farmers Union (NFU) to put an end to the use of gestation crates, or “sow stalls,” by 2017. Explaining their support of the abolition, the NFU cited reasons including the crates’ restrictive and isolating properties, suppression of pigs’ natural urges, and general psychological harm. At a meeting last month, the NFU declared its intentions to “investigate the gaps in current animal-welfare legislation and codes and develop a report and recommendations for the consideration of members at the 2012 NFU national convention.”