Ten years after California’s Proposition 2 set requirements on livestock housing, California voters passed its thematic sequel; Proposition 12.
California voters passed Prop 12 with a 61 percent “yes” vote during the recent midterm elections. In short, it added to the existing law by setting measurement-based minimum space standards for livestock, specifically laying hens, sows, and veal calves kept in any enclosures, including group housing.
Prop 12 also includes language that requires products from covered livestock—eggs, pork, and veal—sold in the state also come from animals housed according to its standards. Similar efforts have spawned lawsuits from over a dozen state attorneys general that are still ongoing.
Prop 12 vs. 2
Though similar in theme, Prop 12 and Prop 2 differ on specifics. The older proposition passed in 2008 with 63.5 percent of the vote and stipulated that confined veal calves, breeding sows, and laying hens must be able to turn around, lie down, stand up, and fully extend their limbs without touching the edges of the confinement or other animals.
Any livestock housing that did not meet Prop 2’s requirements was defined as livestock “confined in a cruel manner.” It did not specify space requirements in terms of measurements, however.
By comparison, Prop 12 quantified “confined in a cruel manner.” In addition to the mobility requirements set by Prop 2, Prop 12 requires the following:
• Veal calves must have at least 43 square feet of useable floorspace per calf by Dec. 31, 2019.
• Breeding pigs must have at least 24 square feet of useable floorspace per pig by Dec. 31, 2019.
• Egg-laying hens must have at least 1 square foot of useable floorspace per hen by Dec. 31, 2019.
• Egg-laying hens must be in cage-free housing systems that abide by the “Guidelines for Cage-Free Housing” portion of the United Egg Producers’ “Animal Husbandry Guidelines for U.S. Egg-Laying Flocks” 2017 edition by Dec. 31, 2021. The referenced document requires a minimum of 1 square foot of usable floor space per hen in cage-free systems that are multilayered and give hens vertical space and requires at least 1.5 square feet of usable floor space per hen in single-level cage-free systems.
Exceptions to these requirements exist, such as for transport, veterinary attention, and slaughter. Specifically for breeding pigs, the space requirements don’t apply to the five days prior to the expected date of a sow giving birth and for “any day that the breeding pig is nursing piglets.”
While Prop 2 specifically referenced gestation crates for pigs, veal crates for veal calves, and battery cages for laying hens, Prop 12’s space requirements apply to any “enclosure” where the covered livestock species are housed. This would include indoor group housing.
Trade component
Prop 12’s effort to extend its housing requirements on eggs, pork, and veal sold in California but produced in other states mirrors the aftermath of Prop 2. In 2010, California’s AB-1437 was signed into law by the governor. It required that all eggs sold in the state come from hens housed in compliance with Prop 2.
In 2016, Massachusetts voters passed ballot initiative Question 3, which mirrored Prop 2’s housing requirements and additionally required that all eggs, pork, and veal sold in the state come from animals housed in compliance with Question 3.
The attorneys general of 14 states are currently suing both California and Massachusetts for these laws. In general, the complaints are that the laws violate the Constitution’s “Commerce Clause.”
The lawsuits are currently before the Solicitor General where it will be decided if the Supreme Court will take up the issue. If the Supreme Court were to take it up and rule against California and Massachusetts, such a ruling would likely have implications for Prop 12.
H.R. 3599, a bill introduced to the House of Representatives in July of 2017, seeks specifically to prevent states from passing laws like Prop 12. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Steve King (R-IA-04) and cosponsored by Reps. Robert Pittenger (R-NC-09) and Collin Peterson (D-MN-07). Since being introduced, no action has been taken. — WLJ
