NJ now prohibits farmers from holding pigs and calves in immobilizing crates

Animal rights advocates praised a new law Gov. Phil Murphy signed last week that bans farmers from holding mother pigs and calves raised for meat in immobilizing crates.

The law sets minimum square footage requirements for enclosures that provide enough space for animals to lie down, stand, turn around and fully extend their limbs. Smaller enclosures are inhumane due to the physical and psychological damage they inflict on pigs and calves, according to Animal Wellness Action, an advocacy group.

Many farmers hold pregnant pigs, also known as sows, in gestation crates. The tight spaces don’t allow room for the animals to turn around or move beyond standing and lying down.

Exemptions to the law allow confined holding spaces for animals during medical research, veterinary exams, transportation, fair exhibitions, humane slaughter or 14 days before giving birth, as well as when a pig nurses.

Implementing this law could result in farmers' gaining new labels on their pork and veal that ethical meat eaters look for. The “Certified Humane” label confirms that animals lived in reasonable spaces. Independent auditors inspect farms to determine whether their livestock’s living conditions meet several requirements, including bedding material and environmental enrichment, according to the Humane Society of the United States.

Opinion: We must ensure animal victims are protected in our state

“We must move past the era of immobilizing animals for years on end as a customary animal-rearing strategy,” said Wayne Pacelle, the president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. “Immobilization is a form of punishment and torment, not a responsible way to raise animals.”

NJ is 11th state to pass such a law

New Jersey’s Legislature almost unanimously passed the law, ultimately making it the 11th state to implement such regulations. New Jersey has a hog inventory of 7,500, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

In May, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a similar California law that, in addition to setting standards for food-producing animals' living conditions, bans sales of pork from pigs that were raised in extremely confined spaces.

Several big-name brands have committed to purchasing pork only from sources that do not hold pigs in gestation crates. Chipotle, for instance, completely eliminated pork from pigs raised in gestation crates from its supply, according to a national Humane Society Food Industry Scorecard.

Some companies, though, made these promises but did not make much progress by their deadlines. McDonald’s planned to end gestation crate use for pigs by 2022, but it received a failing score on the Society’s 2020 scorecard. In March 2022, Vox reported that the company was far from reaching that goal.

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, introduced a bill in Congress last year that would require breeding pigs to live in spaces with no less than 24 square feet of usable floor space. The bill has not moved past the Livestock and Foreign Agriculture subcommittee since March 2022.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ law blocks use of gestation crates for holding calves, pigs