In a stellar and much fought for victory for farmed animals, New Jersey has prohibited the cruel confinement of mama pigs and calves!
Gov. Phil Murphy signed A.1970/S.1298 into law in late July, making New Jersey the twelfth U.S. state to take a stand against animals confined in such tight spaces that they can’t move freely or even groom themselves.
The new Act requires more space for pigs used for breeding and also requires that calves used for veal have visual contact with other calves.
“Ensuring that we are following humane farming practices and that farm animals are treated with care, rather than kept in enclosures so small they are immobilized, is a reflection of our values,” Murphy said.
The victory follows a more than 13-year push by animal advocates and public health experts, who have long cited that keeping farmed animals in stressful, packed conditions weakens their immune systems — which isn’t good for their health, or ours.
Scientific societies, including the American Public Health Association and the Infectious Diseases Society, have stressed that suffering animals are prone to diseases, which can lead to pandemics.
Meanwhile, the Animal Legislative Defense Fund (ALDF) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), both of which championed the legislation, have noted that the extreme confinement of sentient farmed animals has no place in today’s society.
“There is a clear shift in consumer sentiment — and the cruel confinement of pigs and calves raised for veal will not be tolerated,” said ALDF Legislative Affairs Manager Brian R. Hackett. “The Animal Legal Defense Fund is happy to see New Jersey join 11 other states that recognize the cruel confinement of these sensitive and highly intelligent animals is wrong and needs to end.”
The legislation — sponsored by Sens. Nick Scutari and Vin Gopal and Assemblymembers Raj Mukherji, Daniel Benson, and Carol Murphy — passed the Assembly in May and the Senate in June.
“The confinement of mother pigs and calves raised for veal, a common practice among factory farms, constitutes a severe form of animal abuse, and should not be allowed,” Gopal said.
Lady Freethinker is overjoyed that this commonsense and needed legislation has passed. There is still much work to be done for farmed animals, however, who suffer horrific and large-scale atrocities every single day.
If you haven’t already, please sign our petition seeking a federal ban on these cruel types of confinement for farmed animals!
