Egg-citing Victory: CA’s Battery Cage Egg Sales Ban Survives

Late last week, a federal judge threw out a legal challenge to a California law that bans the sale of eggs from hens who are intensively confined inside tiny wire battery cages.

In 2008, California voters passed a state law, known as “Prop 2,” requiring farmers within the state to provide egg-laying hens with more room so they can lie down, turn around, and stretch their wings. Shortly thereafter, the state legislature went one step further and instituted a ban on the sale of eggs that don’t meet these basic requirements — this includes eggs produced outside of California.

This statewide ban on the sale of battery cage eggs ruffled the feathers of Missouri’s Attorney General who sued California, claiming that California could not force Missouri egg producers to give their hens more space, nor keep battery cage eggs out of the California market. Compassion Over Killing, along with a coalition of animal protection groups, joined the legal fight to defend California’s law banning battery cage egg sales.

Luckily for hens, the federal judge agreed with the coalition’s arguments and tossed the lawsuit, stating that the Missouri Attorney General could not sue California merely to protect Missouri’s egg producers from giving hens more space.

With this lawsuit dismissed, egg producers who want to sell in California will be required to give their hens more space and freedom to lay their eggs. This is an important step to improving the lives of hens nationwide.

Want to help protect egg-laying hens? The best way each of us can express our compassion for these smart and social animals is to leave eggs out of our shopping carts. Learn more at TryVeg.com