Denny’s asks producers/processors to give pigs space
Denny’s announced it will work with its suppliers to eliminate the practice of confining pigs in gestation crates for its bacon, sausage and other pork products. The restaurant chain and the Humane Society of the US have worked together to address animal welfare issues for more than five years.
In the pork industry, most mother pigs are confined day and night during their four-month pregnancy in gestation cages, which are roughly 6.6-ft. long and about 2-ft. wide and barely enough room for a full-grown pig to lie on its side, and not enough room to turn around. The crates’ intended purpose is to keep female pigs from fighting in large pens. After pregnancy, pigs are put into a wider cage, which provides room for the piglets to nurse without being accidentally smothered by the mother’s unintentional lying on a piglet.