Miss Daisy
Well-known member
Poultry cage initiative qualifies for ballot
Similar proposal expected in Washington state
Cecilia Parsons
Capital Press
The Farm Animal Welfare initiative, backed by the Humane Society of the United States, will be on the California state ballot Nov. 4.
The California Secretary of State's office announced April 9 that Californians for Humane Farms gathered enough signatures from registered voters to qualify the measure for the ballot.
The campaign began last September.
The measure asks that egg-laying hens, pregnant sows and veal calves not be kept in enclosures that do not allow them to fully extend their limbs.
Since there are no commercial veal calf operations and few large-scale swine breeding farms that still use gestation crates, the measure is mainly aimed at the state's 220 million laying hens.
Some producers do maintain cage-free systems, but the majority of egg producing hens are kept in cages.
If passed, the measure would be the first in the United States banning small cages for poultry.
According to the animal feed industry, HSUS is pushing similar legislative proposals in Colorado, Washington state and New Hampshire. If the legislative proposals were adopted in Washington, egg producers there would have to build 125 new houses at a cost of $155 million, not counting land costs.
Egg producers would be forced to expand the existing cage systems or to cage-free housing. The options are estimated to cost producers $500 million and that does not include land costs.
Poultry industry leaders said egg producers would need to construct 515 new cage-free houses to accommodate the larger space requirements.
California has the fifth-largest egg industry in the nation.
Debbie Murdock of United Egg Producers said state egg producers have gone to great lengths to implement responsible, science-based production methods.
They have expanded cage space and the industry has stressed that egg-laying hens in those systems are protected from predators, severe weather and migratory birds that may carry disease.
Consumers who wish to purchase cage-free eggs already have that option, said Murdock, because many producers also have cage-free operations.
To mandate that all egg be produced in a cage-free system would increase costs to consumers, take away consumer choices and drive egg production from the state, Murdock said.
The measure has a six-year phase-in period. Exceptions are made for scientific research, exhibitions and veterinary treatment.
The egg industry-backed Californians for Sound Farm Animal Agriculture report that expanding cage space could have negative impacts on bird health and the benefits of the current cage system far outweigh the benefits claimed by the initiative.
Spokesman Scott McDonald said the initiative is preying on the emotions of voters who have little knowledge of sound poultry production methods.
The American Egg Board has contributed $400,00 toward research into optimum cage sizes at the University of California-Davis.
Cecilia Parsons is a staff writer based in Ducor, Calif. E-mail: [email protected]" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.capitalpress.com/main.asp?Se ... M=50722.09
Heres a link to the actual initiative
http://ag.ca.gov/cms_pdfs/initiatives/2 ... iative.pdf
Similar proposal expected in Washington state
Cecilia Parsons
Capital Press
The Farm Animal Welfare initiative, backed by the Humane Society of the United States, will be on the California state ballot Nov. 4.
The California Secretary of State's office announced April 9 that Californians for Humane Farms gathered enough signatures from registered voters to qualify the measure for the ballot.
The campaign began last September.
The measure asks that egg-laying hens, pregnant sows and veal calves not be kept in enclosures that do not allow them to fully extend their limbs.
Since there are no commercial veal calf operations and few large-scale swine breeding farms that still use gestation crates, the measure is mainly aimed at the state's 220 million laying hens.
Some producers do maintain cage-free systems, but the majority of egg producing hens are kept in cages.
If passed, the measure would be the first in the United States banning small cages for poultry.
According to the animal feed industry, HSUS is pushing similar legislative proposals in Colorado, Washington state and New Hampshire. If the legislative proposals were adopted in Washington, egg producers there would have to build 125 new houses at a cost of $155 million, not counting land costs.
Egg producers would be forced to expand the existing cage systems or to cage-free housing. The options are estimated to cost producers $500 million and that does not include land costs.
Poultry industry leaders said egg producers would need to construct 515 new cage-free houses to accommodate the larger space requirements.
California has the fifth-largest egg industry in the nation.
Debbie Murdock of United Egg Producers said state egg producers have gone to great lengths to implement responsible, science-based production methods.
They have expanded cage space and the industry has stressed that egg-laying hens in those systems are protected from predators, severe weather and migratory birds that may carry disease.
Consumers who wish to purchase cage-free eggs already have that option, said Murdock, because many producers also have cage-free operations.
To mandate that all egg be produced in a cage-free system would increase costs to consumers, take away consumer choices and drive egg production from the state, Murdock said.
The measure has a six-year phase-in period. Exceptions are made for scientific research, exhibitions and veterinary treatment.
The egg industry-backed Californians for Sound Farm Animal Agriculture report that expanding cage space could have negative impacts on bird health and the benefits of the current cage system far outweigh the benefits claimed by the initiative.
Spokesman Scott McDonald said the initiative is preying on the emotions of voters who have little knowledge of sound poultry production methods.
The American Egg Board has contributed $400,00 toward research into optimum cage sizes at the University of California-Davis.
Cecilia Parsons is a staff writer based in Ducor, Calif. E-mail: [email protected]" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.capitalpress.com/main.asp?Se ... M=50722.09
Heres a link to the actual initiative
http://ag.ca.gov/cms_pdfs/initiatives/2 ... iative.pdf
they think oh sure its good for the chickens to be able to move around but they dont realize all the repercussions. Things are the way they are for a reason. If the chickens are penned together as a group, they will kill eachother within days. Natural pecking order. Disease will sweep through faster than you can say fetch the eggs! I could go on and on its just one of those days. Getting too P!$$@& off to type!
