Can you tell I don't like any part of the "Egg Law" or California's Prop. 2 Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act of 2008. I first started researching it way back in the start of 2008. The first thing that got my attention was the sponsor of this Proposition was The Humane Society of The United States. When I think of Humane Society, I think "Dogs and Cats", these folks want people to take good care of their pets, I'm OK with that. So why was the HSUS now so concerned about Farm Animals? Isn't there enough pets for them to worry about? Farm animals should be a concern of "Farmers Groups, Health Professionals, Agriculture Inspectors, Consumer Protection Groups", a lot of people before the Humane Society.
My other concern was the local, regional, state and national economies, 2008 was a really bad year for a lot of us. This proposition was a "No Brainer", it was going to raise prices at the grocery store. People were already having a hard time putting food on our tables. Families were loosing their homes and the HSUS was thinking about where the chickens live!
My third concern was "Do we really need more laws?", I thought then as I do now, We have enough laws! I have for sometime been of the opinion, too many laws, just enforce the one's already on the books. This proposed animal rights law was not needed to start with. I could not figure out how it could be enforced, The proposition originally called for all farm animals, to be able to move, stand up, lie down, turn around and in short farm animals needed more space. As the proposition progressed and onto the ballot, it had become about egg laying hens, being able to "spread their wings".
Now in 2015, I know a lot more about the "egg law" then I did in 2008. All of my concerns in 2008, are now reality in 2015.
My thinking about who's going to enforce it? Because the Humane Society of the United States wrote the law, it will be the dog catcher's of California. Farmers could face fines and possibly face jail sentences if they don't give their hens enough space. The law makes it a misdemeanor crime against animals, because of that, not the Department of Agriculture's jurisdiction. So will the dog catcher be using his/her tape measure to verify if a chicken has enough space?
The Humane Society of the United States got their egg law passed in California. What state is next? They will be coming to all of them, watch and see.
Bookmarks