Proposed California Assembly Bill Takes Aim at Factory Farming Abuses

WASHINGTON — California State Assemblymember Mervyn Dymally (D-52nd District) introduced a bill into the State Assembly that would require that farm animals in the state merely be given enough room to turn around and extend their limbs. The Humane Society of the United States, the nation's largest animal welfare organization, urged the Assembly to quickly pass the measure, which would help protect California's family farmers as well as the welfare of millions of animals raised for food.

The bill, A.B. 594, would prohibit the following factory farm abuses:

• Confining egg‑laying hens in tiny cages where they cannot spread their wings
• Cramming breeding pigs into restrictive crates that prevent them from turning around
• Tethering calves raised for veal in small crates where they cannot walk or turn around

Assemblymember Dymally, who is also Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Health, states, "I'm proud to have the opportunity to introduce this important bill, which would greatly improve the lives of animals who are among the most abused in the country. Simply by providing these animals with enough room so that they can turn around and extend their limbs, we can prevent needless cruelty."

"The Humane Society of the United States commends Assemblymember Dymally for working to enact laws to prevent some of the worst factory farm abuses," comments Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of The HSUS. "Not only do California residents oppose farm animal abuse, but a growing number of key California businesses are moving away from these very practices that A.B. 594 seeks to prohibit."

Numerous California companies, schools, and even local governments have joined a snowballing national movement against the cruel confinement of farm animals. In the wake of successful HSUS-led ballot initiatives banning gestation crate confinement in Florida and Arizona, the U.S.'s and Canada's largest pig producers—Smithfield Foods and Maple Leaf Foods—announced in recent weeks that they are phasing out gestation crates. And two of the nation's largest veal producers, Strauss Veal and Marcho Farms, are phasing out veal crates.

Facts

• The HSUS has more than one million constituents in California.
• U.S. factory farms confine nearly 300 million hens in barren battery cages that are so small, the birds can't even spread their wings. Each bird has less space than a single sheet of paper on which to live. The European Union has banned barren battery cages, effective 2012. There are approximately 20 million egg-laying hens in California.
• Major grocery chains such as Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Natural Marketplace have stopped selling cage eggs, while Monrovia-based Trader Joe's has done the same with its private line eggs. Bon Appétit, a major food service company, is phasing out the use of cage eggs in all of its 400 cafés, and even companies such as AOL and Google have ended the use of cage eggs in their employee cafeterias. And local municipalities such as Takoma Park, Md., and West Hollywood, Calif., have publicly condemned battery cages.
• Gestation crates are two-foot-wide metal cages that confine nearly six million breeding pigs for nearly their entire lives. The crates are so restrictive that the animals can't even turn around. The European Union has banned gestation crates, effective 2013. There are approximately 20,000 breeding sows in California.

Factory farm veal producers cram nearly one million calves into individual wooden crates so small, the animals can't turn around. Tied by their necks, the animals can barely move. The European Union has banned veal crates, effective this year. There are no calves confined in veal crates in California.

Timeline

• January 2007—Smithfield Foods and Maple Leaf Foods announce that they are phasing out their use of gestation crates.
• January 2007—Strauss Veal and Marcho Farms announce that they are phasing out their use of veal crates.
• January 2007—West Hollywood, Calif., unanimously passes a bill condemning battery cage confinement and encouraging egg consumers to not purchase eggs from caged hens.
• November 2006—In a landslide, Arizona voters pass an HSUS-led initiative banning gestation crates and veal crates in the state (effective 2013).
• September 2006—In response to an HSUS-led campaign, Ben & Jerry's announces that it is phasing out the use of eggs from caged hens in its ice creams.
• November 2005—In response to an HSUS-led campaign, Trader Joe's announces that its brand eggs will be exclusively cage-free.
• May 2005—Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Natural Marketplace announce that they have ended sales of eggs from caged hens.
• November 2003—The Better Business Bureau rules that it is misleading to label eggs from battery-caged hens as "Animal Care Certified."
• November 2002—Florida voters overwhelmingly approve an HSUS-led measure banning gestation crates in the state (effective 2008).

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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization – backed by 10 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty -- On the web at www.humanesociety.org.