Posted February 13, 2014
Missouri’s Attorney General has filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging a California law regulating the living conditions of chickens, according to an article by the Associated Press available here. The LA Times also reported on the story here.
The lawsuit, filed by Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, was filed in U.S. District Court in Fresno. The suit challenges the California law set to take effect in 2015 which requires eggs sold in the state to come from hens raised in cages that allow enough space to lie down, stand up, turn around and fully extend their limbs.
In 2008, the ballot initiative, California Proposition 2, was approved by voters with 63.5 percent for the initiative and 36.5 percent against. In 2010, California legislators expanded the law to ban the sale of eggs from any hens not raised in compliance with California’s animal care standards.
Koster argues that the California law violates interstate commerce protections of the U.S. Constitution by “effectively imposing new requirements on out-of-state farmers.” “If California legislators are permitted to mandate the size of the chicken coups on Missouri farms, they may just as easily demand that Missouri soybeans be harvested by hand or that Missouri corn be transported by solar-powered trucks,” said Koster.
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) said that states have a right to pass laws that protect the health and safety of its residents and that eggs produced in “battery cages” have a higher risk of salmonella contamination.
For more information on animal welfare, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
Share: