On this year’s California ballot, voters will have the opportunity to pass the world’s strongest farmed animal protection law: Proposition 12. If they vote yes, millions of hens in California will no longer languish in cages and millions of animals raised for the California marketplace will no longer suffer the worst factory farming abuses, such as mother pigs confined in gestation crates so narrow they can barely move, calves raised for veal tethered at the neck for the duration of their short lives, and hens crammed in cages so small they can’t even spread their wings. If Californians vote no, these animals will continue to be caged generation after generation after generation. That’s not acceptable.
Mercy For Animals investigators have documented these cruel practices firsthand, and we vow to continue to fight in support of Prop 12 to ban this abuse.
It’s no surprise that leading farmed animal protection and vegan advocacy organizations support the measure, including Mercy For Animals, The Humane League, Farm Sanctuary, Compassion Over Killing, Animal Equality, and In Defense of Animals. Where does animal agribusiness stand on Prop 12? Unsurprisingly, the meat and egg industries are campaigning against it. Their trade associations are lobbying for voters to oppose Prop 12, including the National Pork Producers Council, the National Association of Egg Farmers, the Association of California Egg Farmers, the American Veal Association, the California Farm Bureau, and Protect the Harvest.
Ten years ago, Californians voted on a previous farmed animal measure—Proposition 2—and some are wondering why the issue of farmed animal cruelty is on the ballot again. Simply put, Prop 12 is much stronger than the law passed in 2008. Back then, Prop 2 helped reduce the suffering of animals confined in California’s factory farms and was the most far-reaching farmed animal law in the country. Since then, animal advocates have made significant progress, persuading states across the country to prohibit forms of extreme confinement and persuading hundreds of food companies to ban cages in their supply chains. Now it’s time to upgrade California’s farmed animal protection law and pass Prop 12 so California can once again be a leader.
While a yes vote won’t guarantee “cruelty-free” conditions—and no one claims it will—Prop 12 will greatly reduce suffering for millions of farmed animals each year. That’s why Mercy For Animals is proud to stand with other vegan and farmed animal advocacy organizations in campaigning for Prop 12 and against factory farming lobby groups. And we’ll continue working to ban the worst factory farming practices while also campaigning to leave animals off our plates altogether.
Want to help pass Prop 12? You can volunteer today, whether you live in California or not. Click here to get started!
PAID FOR BY MERCY FOR ANIMALS