The opportunity: For decades, conventional farrowing crates have been an industry standard to protect piglets, but they limit a sow’s natural behaviours, including interacting freely with their piglets, and having social contact with other sows. The long-standing industry challenge drove an opportunity for SunPork to innovate, developing a commercially viable indoor system that supports these natural behaviours and allows sows greater freedom of movement.
The action: To achieve this, SunPork invested in a decade of research, resulting in a zero confinement ‘Maternity Ring’ – a design that eliminates sow confinement while still ensuring piglet safety. It also aligns with the Five Domains of Animal Welfare, addressing nutrition, environment, health, behaviour and mental state. We are proud to endorse and support SunPork’s work on this industry-first innovation, as it aligns with our aspiration of continuous improvement for animal welfare.
The impact: This innovation not only improves welfare but offers a commercially viable, practical solution to animal welfare concerns within indoor systems. Committed to industry-wide adoption, SunPork has shared the Maternity Ring research and resources with other pork producers through training and partnerships. SunPork’s research has also shown improved sow performance and healthier, faster-growing piglets. RSPCA’s support for this scientifically backed crate-free solution makes clear the material advancement in animal welfare. “RSPCA Australia has welcomed this crate free solution as a meaningful advancement in animal welfare,” said RSPCA’s Senior Scientific Officer Melina Tensen. “The Maternity Ring is a game-changer for indoor pig production.”
Greenstock - Woolworths Group's dedicated, standalone red meat supply chain business - and SunPork, Australia’s largest pork producer and our major fresh pork supplier in Australia, are collaborating to transition our pork supply to confinement-free practices over the next five years. This initiative, which saw the first confinement-free pork in our Australian Supermarkets in October 2024, is expected to positively impact over 55,000 sows across SunPork’s 48 Australian and seven New Zealand farms. This innovation from SunPork seeks to set a new global benchmark for indoor pork production.
