On May 13, Maine Governor John Baldacci signed landmark legislation banning two of the cruelest and most abusive factory farming confinement methods in the state – veal crates and gestation crates.
Effective January 1, 2011, the new law prohibits the use of the restrictive devices which confine baby calves raised for veal, and pregnant breeding pigs. The crates typically measure a mere two feet wide and are so narrow that the animal is unable to turn around or even lie down comfortably. Deprived, stressed, and bored out of their minds, the calves and pigs unfortunate enough to spend their entire lives in such crates often go insane from the lack of freedom and mental stimulation.
The landmark passage of this bill makes Maine the sixth state in the nation to ban gestation crates – following Florida, California, Arizona, Oregon, and Colorado.