We’re thrilled to announce that Proposition 12, the Prevention of Cruelty to Farm Animals Act, has passed in California with a majority vote!

This legislation will ban the extreme confinement of baby calves used for veal, mother pigs, and egg-laying hens in tiny cages by the end of 2021, and will ensure that companies from other states that wish to sell animal products in California also have to meet these stricter standards. In addition, Prop 12 will legally require that all birds are provided with enrichments to allow natural behaviors such as dust bathing, perching, scratching, and laying eggs in a nesting area, all things they are currently deprived of in cage systems.

In 2008, California voters passed a similar proposition called Proposition 2 which prohibited the confinement of farmed animals in a manner that didn’t allow them to turn around freely, lie down, stand up, or fully extend their limbs. However, because Proposition 2 did not state exact minimum space measurements, many companies pleaded ignorance once the law took effect in 2015. The strengthened Prevention of Cruelty to Farm Animals Act has now closed that loophole so now there’s no excuses!

A huge thank you to everyone in California who votes YES to reduce the suffering of millions of animals!

This legislation will help to shape attitudes as our culture grows less tolerant of the horrific cruelty that farmed animals are subjected to, and currently stands as the strongest farmed animal protection law in the world.