The Humane Society of the US (HSUS) has collected nearly 800,000 signatures to place a ballot initiative banning stalls in swine and veal production and cages in layer operations on California’s November ballot. 433,971 valid signatures are needed to qualify for the ballot.
The initiative, called the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, would prohibit producers from confining egg-laying hens, gestating pigs and calves in cages that severely restrict the animals’ normal movements. If approved by voters, it would take effect in 2015. A new group called Californians for Sound Farm Animal Agriculture, formed to fight the ballot initiative, expressed its alarm at the prospect of voters dictating farming practices.
Source:
The Argus, Feb. 29, 2008