Landmark Farm Animal Welfare Bill Approved in Colorado

May 14, 2008

	©Dan Paul
	Colo. Governor Bill Ritter signed into law a ban on veal and gestation crates, with HSUS's Colorado state director Holly Tarry, Colo. State University Professor Bernard Rollin and state agricultural leaders standing by.

With a stroke of his pen, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter passed landmark legislation that will improve the lives of nearly 150,000 farm animals crammed into crates in factory farms. His signature further validates the movement away from some of the most cruel and inhumane factory farm abuses.

The bill, SB 201, phases out gestation crates and veal crates—individual cages that confine breeding sows and veal calves. Colorado is now the first state in the country to ban the use of gestation crates and veal crates by action of a state legislature, joining states such as Florida, Arizona and Oregon that have taken action on similar issues.

Movement Away From Cages and Crates Gains Momentum

The bill's passage came just a few weeks after a landmark California measure to prohibit veal crates, gestation crates and battery cages officially qualified for November's ballot. When passed this Election Day, the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act will provide farm animals with the most basic protection: that they merely have enough room to turn around and extend their limbs.

"Americans demand humane treatment of animals, including animals raised for food. With this measure, adversaries turned into allies to advance animal welfare concerns," stated Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS. "Through cooperation, progress on this important issue can indeed belong to everyone."

Unlikely Partnership

SB 201 came as the result of negotiations between The HSUS and Colorado agricultural groups. Governor Bill Ritter, Agriculture Commissioner John Stulp, and Dr. Bernard Rollin, Colorado State University Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, played crucial and leading roles in the negotiations.

"This legislation is proof that humane groups and agriculture interests can work together to find common ground and move toward better treatment of farm animals," added Professor Rollin. "The movement toward ending abuses such as gestation crates and veal crates is unmistakable, and states elsewhere should follow this example."

SB 201 gained support in both the House and Senate, with the House approving it 59-4 and the Senate approving it unanimously.

©USDA
Thanks to Governor Ritter's signature, crates confining pigs like these will no longer be allowed in Colorado.

Progress for Farm Animals

Not only does Colorado's bill phase out veal crates within four years and gestation crates within 10 years, but it also jumpstarts a process for further negotiations on issues such as the confinement of egg-laying hens in battery cages.

With every state that prohibits cages and crates, the signs become clearer that these abuses are out of step with mainstream American values regarding the treatment of animals.

Related Links

Think Outside the Crate Campaign

Scientists and Experts on Gestation Crates and Sow Welfare