Cage-free egg bill under consideration in New York

Legislation has been proposed in the state of New York that would require all eggs produced and sold in the state to be raised in cage-free laying systems.

Roy Graber Headshot
(Andrea Gantz | Flickr.com)
(Andrea Gantz | Flickr.com)

Legislation has been proposed in the state of New York that would require all eggs produced and sold in the state to be raised in cage-free laying systems.

Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, D-Manhattan, proposed A11041, which would amend the agriculture and markets law to provide provisions for egg production method requirements. The bill was presented on October 7.

Under the proposed legislation, laying hens in the state would have to be able to roam unrestricted with the exception of exterior walls. Hens must be provided with the minimum amount of useable floo space per hen as set forth by the 2017 edition of the United Egg Producers (UEP) animal husbandry guidelines. Hens must also be provided with enrichments, including a scratch area, a perch, a nest box and a dust bathing area.

Farm operators, under the proposed law, would also be required to provide hens with unlimited access to the outdoors in “a safe and secure environment that prevents access to predators.”

If passed, the bill would also disallow in the state the sale of eggs from hens raised in a manner that was inconsistent with the conditions hens must be kept by New York producers.

The bill is presently being reviewed by the New York Assembly Agriculture committee, of which Rosenthal is a member.

If the bill is passed, its requirements would take effect 24 months after the bill becomes law.

A report in the Daily Star describes Rosenthal as an animal rights activist who pioneered legislation to ban the declawing of cats, and has also promoted a bill to ban the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits at pet stores.

If A11041 is approved, New York would join California, Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Michigan and Colorado as states to pass laws that require all eggs produced and sold in the state to come from cage-free laying systems. Similar legislation has been considered in Maine, Hawaii and Arizona.

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