(The Center Square) — New Jersey lawmakers have approved a ban on gestation cages used to confine pregnant pigs, sending the measure to Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk nearly a decade after his predecessor, Chris Christie, vetoed a similar measure.
The legislation, which the House and Senate approved, would require the New Jersey Department of Agriculture to adopt new regulations requiring pork produced in the state to come from pigs whose mothers were raised with at least 24 square feet of space, with the ability to lie down and turn around.
That would effectively ban the so-called “gestation crate” metal enclosures common in the nation’s pork industry.
While New Jersey isn’t home to many large-scale pig farms, animal rights activists contend the proposal would improve help conditions for the country’s six million breeding sows, who they say spend a large portion of their pregnancies confined in metal gestation cages that prohibit their movement.
“Passing this legislation, which is supported by over 93% of New Jersey residents, was long overdue. Brian R. Hackett, a lobbyist for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, said in a statement. “We urge Gov. Murphy to sign this commonsense legislation into law.”
Activists say cage confinement practices also make sows and their piglets more susceptible to diseases that can spread to humans.
Passage of the bill comes after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld California’s voter-approved Proposition 12, which requires all pork sold in the state to come from pigs whose mothers were raised with at least 24 square feet of space, among other changes, following a legal challenge by the pork industry.
The nation’s $26-billion-a-year pork industry has pushed back against the state bans, arguing they will require expensive, industry-wide changes that will lead to higher costs nationwide for pork chops, ribs and bacon.
The industry points out other states that have banned gestation cages import a majority of the pork sold and the laws, as written, place an unfair financial burden on pork farmers in other states.
“Allowing state overreach will increase prices for consumers and drive small farms out of business, leading to more consolidation,” the National Pork Producers Council said in a statement on the Supreme Court ruling. “NPPC will continue to fight for our nation’s pork farmers and American families against misguided regulations.”
The Biden administration had sided with pork producers in the legal challenge, urging justices in written filings that Proposition 12 to overturn the law, saying it has “thrown a giant wrench” into the nation’s pork market.
In Congress, Democrats have filed a proposal that would, if approved, set a nationwide ban on pig gestation crates. But House Republicans representing Midwest states have introduced a bill called the Exposing Agriculture Trade Suppression Act to repeal state laws restricting agricultural commerce.
