Brooks Law Digest: Confinement

Nevada Assembly Bill 399 would prohibit the confinement of a hen used to produce eggs in an enclosure that is not a cage-free housing system. The bill would also prohibit confining a hen in a cage-free housing system that has “less than one square foot of usable floor space per egg-laying hen if the cage-free housing system provides egg-laying hens with unrestricted access to elevated flat platforms in a multi-tiered aviary or partially slatted system” or one that has less than “one and one-half square feet of usable floor space per egg-laying hen if the cage-free housing system does not provide unrestricted access to elevated flat platforms in a single-level, all-litter floor system.” The bill would additionally prohibit “farm owners or operators” from selling or transporting eggs or egg products without having been issued a certificate by the state Department of Agriculture that those products were produced by an egg-laying hen who was confined in a manner that complies with the bills requirements.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox has signed into law Senate Bill 147 which will prohibit the confinement of egg-laying hens in an enclosure that is not a cage-free housing system or that has less usable floor space per hen than as required by the 2017 edition of the United Egg Producers' Animal Husbandry Guidelines for U.S. Egg-Laying Flocks: Guidelines for Cage-Free Housing. To qualify as a cage-free housing system an environment must provide egg-laying hens “enrichments that allow them to exhibit natural behaviors including, at a minimum, scratch areas, perches, nest boxes, and dust bathing areas.” The law will also prohibit the sale or transport of eggs or egg products that a business owner knows or should have known were produced by an egg-laying hen that was confined in a manner prohibited by the law. The prohibitions take effect on January 1, 2025, and the state Department of Agriculture and Food is required to prepare a report to the state legislature on “efforts taken by farm owners and operators to come into compliance” with the pending prohibition by November 2023.

New Mexico Senate Bill 347 would prohibit the confinement of an egg-laying hen in an enclosure with less than one square foot of usable space per hen after July 1, 2022. The bill would also prohibit the sale or transport of eggs produced by a hen confined in a manner that is prohibited after July 1, 2022. After July 1, 2024, the bill would prohibit the confinement of an egg-laying hen in an enclosure that is not a cage-free housing system, an enclosure that has less than “one square foot of usable floor space per egg-laying hen in a cage-free housing system that provides egg-laying hens with unfettered access to vertical space,” or an enclosure that has less than “one and one-half square feet of usable floor space per egg-laying hen in a cage-free housing system that does not provide egg-laying hens with unfettered access to vertical space.”

New Jersey Senate Bill 3401 would prohibit confining a pig used for breeding or cows raised for veal in a way that prevents the animal from lying down, standing up, fully extending their limbs, or turning around freely. The bill would make each animal that is confined in violation of the law a separate offense.

Utah Senate Bill 147 would prohibit the confinement of egg-laying hens in an enclosure that is not a cage-free housing system or that has less usable floor space per hen than as required by the 2017 edition of the United Egg Producers' Animal Husbandry Guidelines for U.S. Egg-Laying Flocks: Guidelines for Cage-Free Housing. The bill would also prohibit the sale or transport of eggs or egg products that the business owner knows or should know were produced by an egg-laying hen that was confined in a manner prohibited by the bill. The legislation would take effect January 1, 2025.

Arizona House Bill 2525 would require minimum standards for the housing of hens used for eggs and prohibit the sale of eggs obtained from hens confined in a manner not in compliance with the state requirements.

New York Assembly Bill 3630 would require that all hens used for eggs be confined in a cage-free system and forbid the sale of shell egg or liquid egg products for human consumption if the seller knows or should have known that the egg was produced in a facility that does not comply with the state requirements for confinement.

Massachusetts House Bill 596 and Senate Bill 212 would mandate that egg-laying hens be allowed to engage in natural behaviors such as perching, dust bathing, and fully extending their wings.

Hawaii House Bill 538 and Senate Bill 346 would prohibit the knowing confinement of egg-laying hens in a “cruel manner” or the sale of shell eggs or egg products produced by hens confined in a “cruel manner” beginning December 31, 2025. The bill defines “confined in a cruel manner” as the “confinement of an egg-lying hen in an enclosure other than a cage-free housing system with less than one square foot of usable floor space per hen in multi-tiered aviaries . . . or any other cage-free system that provides hens with unfettered access to vertical space; or one and a half square feet of usable floor space per hen” in any cage-free system that does not provide hens with unfettered access to vertical space.

New York Assembly Bill 2122 would prohibit the confinement of a calf used for veal or a pregnant pig in a manner that prevents them from lying down, standing up, freely extending their limbs, or turning around for the majority of the day.