Prop. 2: flying the coop?

Ballot measure would uncage hens, and, opponents say, undo the state's egg industry.

Published online on Monday, Oct. 20, 2008

California voters will decide next month how they want their eggs -- from free-roaming hens, even if they cost more, or from caged hens that may be less prone to disease.

Proposition 2 on the Nov. 4 ballot would require farmers to free their egg-laying chickens from their cages, and would limit restrictions on pregnant sows or calves raised for veal.

Animal-rights activists argue Prop. 2 would create a more humane way to raise veal, pork and egg-laying chickens.

But Valley agricultural interests fear Prop. 2 could lead to more efforts to limit how dairy farmers and cattle ranchers handle their animals -- and could drive some operators, especially in the egg industry, out of the state.

The measure has drawn interest from national animal-rights groups and farm organizations, which are pouring millions of dollars into the campaigns. Both sides say Prop. 2 could prompt similar efforts in other farming states.

The measure, which would take effect in 2015, would require that egg-laying hens, calves raised for veal and pregnant pigs be confined only in ways that allow the animals to lie down, stand up, fully extend their limbs and turn around freely. Fairs, 4-H programs, rodeos and research and veterinary purposes would be exempt.

"This one opens the floodgates and can potentially embolden groups like the Humane Society of the United States to put an anti-agriculture agenda in place," said Tricia Stever, executive director of the Tulare County Farm Bureau.

Her concerns are echoed by Michael Marsh, chief executive officer of the 1,100-member, Modesto-based Western United Dairymen.

He worries that the primary backer -- the Humane Society of the United States -- may make the dairy industry its next target.

"Their goal is a vegan diet for everyone. It's not 'be kind to animals,' " Marsh said of the Humane Society. "Their goal is for people not to consume any animal protein of any kind. One of the things we would be concerned with is that this is a slippery slope."

But Paul Shapiro, senior director for the Humane Society of the United States, described words of opponents as "apocalyptic fear-mongering."

"They are forced to defend what most people consider indefensible: confining of animals in spaces so small that they can barely move an inch," he said.

Opponents of Prop. 2 say sow and veal confinement in tiny enclosures already is being phased out in California.

In Corcoran, for example, the hog processor Corcpork this year ceased use of gestation crates because it shut down its breeding operation. Animal-rights activists sued unsuccessfully to stop the practice.

But most of Prop. 2's campaign has been focused on egg-laying chickens.

California is the nation's fifth-largest egg-producing state, supporting 3,600 jobs and injecting $648 million into the economy. Fresno County produced about $18.85 million worth of eggs last year; in Kings County, production amounted to about $2.6 million. Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties are among the state's largest egg producers.

Shapiro said the proposition would move hens out of so-called "battery cages," which hold six to eight animals, and move them to a cage-free, barn environment.

Shapiro said confining birds in smaller cages increases the chances that a sick bird could make others ill.

In a "cage-free" barn, "animals can exhibit more natural behavior, spread their wings, walk around, lay eggs in nests," Shapiro said.

"It doesn't mean their lives will be idyllic, but they will have better lives."