California's Proposition 2

November 26, 2008 — 

Although it is not scheduled to start until 2015, California meat processors have already started to receive calls from concerned consumers eager to learn when Prop 2 rules will be implemented by their producer suppliers.

The farm animal housing initiative known as Prop 2 was passed with almost 66% of voters supporting the measure. The initiative that was carried to the ballot by a petition last spring by a coalition of activist groups led by HSUS requires that all farm animals not be tethered or confined in a manner that prevents them from lying down, standing up, turning around or fully extending their limbs without touching another animal or an enclosure such as a cage or stall specifically addressing cage housing systems or layers and stall systems for sows and veal calves. It essentially will close down the commercial egg industry in California, affecting 95% of egg production in the state, and will leave California consumers dependent on eggs shipped in from other states upon implementation.

Prop 2 will now be passed on to California regulators, who will determine how the law will be implemented and enforced. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), which opposed Prop 2, issued a statement last week calling on regulators to involve animal welfare specialists and veterinarians in rulemaking "to make sure that resulting changes in animal housing actually improve conditions for the animals that they are meant to help," according to Feedstuffs.

Source: National Meat Association