CASE 01 · ANIMAL TREATMENT
THE CRATE WHERE LUNA GAVE BIRTH
Sow #684. Three years old. A yellow tag through her right ear.
Every morning, she chews the bars.
BEFORE SHE GIVES BIRTH, LUNA'S INSTINCT WOULD BE TO DO TWO THINGS. BUT SHE CAN DO NEITHER OF THEM FROM THE CRATE.
SHE WOULD LEAVE THE GROUP
In the days before she gives birth, Luna's instinct is to walk away from the herd, sometimes for kilometres, to find a safe, quiet place of her own.
SOURCE: sow pre-farrowing behaviour, AR ethology file, 2026.
SHE WOULD BUILD A NEST
She would gather straw, grass and branches and build a nest for her piglets. Pigs have done this for thousands of years. Luna's instincts are no different.
SOURCE: nest-building in domestic sows, AR ethology file, 2026.
IN THE CRATE, SHE CAN'T
In a farrowing crate Luna cannot turn around, cannot walk away, cannot build anything at all. The bars are the width of her body. She is kept here for weeks, twice a year. The crate is legal, someone approved this.
Schematic · not to scale · pending cleared site plan
SOURCE: farrowing-crate dimensions & legality, AR legal file, spring 2026.
This footage may be distressing to some viewers.
THE VERDICT · CASE 01