Voters Will Weigh Farm Animal Treatment in November
The November statewide ballot has its first initiative: a proposal to ban procedures currently used to confine some farm animals.
Secretary of State Debra Bowen certified today that the initiative will appear on the fall ballot, after concluding proponents had gathered more than enough voter signatures.
The initiative, if passed, would require that a calf raised for veal, pregnant pig, or egg-laying hen (chicken, duck, turkey, goose) must be allowed to lie down, stand up, and turn around. The simple and direct proposal would effectively outlaw any kind of cage or tethering device that failed to let the animal have such a range of activity.
There are some exemptions listed in the initiative, but it's likely to stir an impassioned debate between animal rights groups and the state's farming community. The proponents, known as Californians for Humane Farms, have a website that claims the initiative could impact some 20 million farm animals in the state.
This is the first initiative to qualify and the second ballot measure slated for November (the first measure, a bond measure for a high-speed rail system, was placed on the ballot by the Legislature).
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