California Egg Producer Seeks Clarification of Prop. 2 Humane Animal Husbandry Standards
A California egg producer has filed a lawsuit against the state and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) seeking a declaration that the improvements it has already made to its facilities, referred to as “the enriched colony housing system,” comply with the requirements of Proposition 2 (Prop. 2). JS West Milling Co., Inc. v. California, No. 10-04225 (Cal. Super. Ct., Fresno Cty., filed December 8, 2010). Prop. 2, approved in 2008, prohibits agricultural operations from confining farm animals, for all or the majority of any day, in a way that prevents the animal from “lying down, standing up, and fully extending his or her limbs; and turning around freely.”
The plaintiff emphasizes that it does not seek to challenge the voter-approved
proposition. Rather, because its requirements are “vague, and there is
substantial disagreement among the agricultural community, animal rights
groups, and other interested parties as to what they require,” the plaintiff
seeks clarification on the law’s requirements from the court. The plaintiff has
apparently spent more than $3 million on a new facility designed to comply
with Prop. 2 and claims that it will soon begin spending millions more to bring
existing facilities into compliance. The company alleges that, “Despite this
substantial outlay of time, engineering, and capital to comply with Proposition
2, the chief economist and California Senior State Director of HSUS states
that [plaintiff’s] new facility would ‘be obviously illegal in a few years’ when
Proposition 2 will be enforced.”
According to the complaint, HSUS now contends that Prop. 2 requires “cage free” operations, “which, if true, will drive the retail price of eggs to unaffordable levels for consumers of this low-cost protein source.” Claiming that its new “enriched colony housing system” has been used in the European Union for more than 10 years and is superior to “cage free” conditions, the plaintiff alleges that hens raised in these systems “suffer less disease, have lower mortality, and enjoy healthier air quality than many organic and ‘cage free’ hens. Hens in so-called ‘cage free’ systems are often grouped together by the hundreds or thousands in an open barn, where both birds and eggs often come into contact with fecal matter resulting in disease, and higher instances of salmonella.”
The plaintiff seeks “a judicial determination of its rights and duties, and a
declaration whether the enriched colony housing system with 60 birds to the
EU Standards, installed at its facility in Livingston, meets the requirements of
Proposition 2.” The company also seeks the costs of suit and attorney’s fees.
