The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California has dismissed a lawsuit brought on by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) challenging California’s Proposition 12.
The Prevention of Cruelty to Farm Animals Act, also referred to as Prop 12, was passed on the California ballot in 2018.
The proposition established new minimum requirements for more space for egg-laying hens, breeding pigs, and veal calves.
The North American Meat Institute originally challenged Prop 12’s constitutionality in October of last year, saying the proposition unfairly impacted out-of-state producers.
The lawsuit was dismissed.
NPPC and AFBF recently challenged the proposition for similar reasons, but U.S. District Judge Thomas Whelan dismissed the lawsuit, saying Prop 12 “precludes the sale within California of products produced by hogs not raised in conformity with the requirements of Proposition 12, regardless of where the hogs are raised.”
Therefore, he ruled the proposition “does not regulate wholly out-of-state conduct.”
