A National AgLaw Center Research Publication

States’ Farm Animal Confinement Statutes

Elizabeth R. Rumley, Senior Staff Attorney& National Agricultural Law Center Research Staff


Whether through typical legislative channels or as a result of a ballot initiative, several states have enacted laws that are concerned with farm animal confinement. While the majority of these laws require that farm animals be given a certain amount of space, others reserve the right to make those rules either to the state legislature or to a board put into place to address those issues. As a result of the wide variety of statutes, the statutory language contained in each differs greatly. States’ Farm Animal Confinement Statutes provides the statutory text of each state’s laws, along with the date on which it becomes effective. The primary aim of this compilation is to provide the researcher with easy and free access to a state’s statutory language by simply clicking on the state’s image in the map below.  Last updated 5/1/2021