Californians Launch Ballot Initiative for Farmed Animals

- Posted October 1, 20067

This week, a broad coalition, including animal protection groups, veterinarians, environmentalists, and food safety advocates, began collecting signatures to put an anti-cruelty initiative on the California ballot for November 2008.

Californians for Humane Farms will collect more than 650,000 signatures to place the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act on the general election ballot. The measure will help prevent cruelty to nearly 20 million animals confined in industrial factory farms in California, as well as protect California's environment. AVAR is supporting and participating in this effort.

The Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act provides basic protections requiring that animals be able to turn around and extend their limbs. It will prevent the use of inhumane factory farming practices such as keeping animals confined in small crates or cages—specifically, veal crates for calves, battery cages for egg-laying hens, and gestation crates for breeding pigs.

Across the country, restaurants, producers, and retailers—including Burger King, Carl's Jr., Hardee's, Wolfgang Puck, Smithfield Foods, San Francisco State University, and University of California-Berkeley—are moving away from crates and cages on factory farms, and switching to housing where the animals have more freedom of movement and socialization.

Read the full text of the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act.

For more information on the ballot initiative and to sign up to help with signature gathering, go to www.humanecalifornia.org.

Facts

  • Veal crates are narrow wooden enclosures that prevent calves from turning around or lying down comfortably. The calves are typically chained by their necks and suffer immensely.
  • California factory farms confine approximately 19 million hens per year 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.
  • During their four-month pregnancies, nearly 20,000 female breeding pigs in California are confined in barren gestation crates—individual metal enclosures only 2 feet wide. The crates are so small, the animals cannot even turn around.
  • The measure will prevent out-of-state factory farm operators from setting up shop in our state with veal crates, battery cages and gestation crates.
  • Confining animals in crates or cages results in a high density of animals in industrial factory farms, leading to more animal waste and pollution of air and water, as well as risk of disease transmission such as salmonella.
  • Florida, Arizona and Oregon have prohibited gestation crates. Arizona has prohibited veal crates, as well. Many major food retailers, in California and elsewhere, are moving away from supporting veal crates, battery cages and gestation crates. California city councils have passed resolutions opposing battery cage confinement. And all three of these abuses have already been legislated against in the European Union.

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Californians for Humane Farms is a coalition of animal protection organizations, veterinarians, environmentalists, food safety organizations, and concerned citizens who joined efforts to launch a statewide initiative for the November 2008 ballot—one that will improve the lives of millions of farm animals in California.