Are Pigs Legal in California
If you find yourself in a situation where you already have a big-bellied pig in an area where it`s illegal, your best solution is to keep a low profile unless you`re willing to hire a lawyer and try to change the law. Most area and animal controls will not look for this type of violation. Enforcement situations usually arise from related complaints. Once a complaint is filed in a situation where the law clearly states that your big-bellied pig is illegal, the authorities are required to enforce the law. You have no choice. Even if the complaint is withdrawn, it does not matter. At this point, you need to either change the law (difficult), move into an area of law, or abandon your pet. Californians voted to ban the sale of meat from pigs born to sows that have spent their pregnancies in small boxes. The law, which will come into force in January 2022, is impacting pork production nationwide. If you are told that they are illegal, ask for a copy of the regulations.
Often, there is none. The person behind the desk simply assumes that big-bellied pigs would be illegal. Even if there is a regulation that allows pigs, you need to make sure that your property meets all the criteria of area or size. Twice in January, the judges considered hearing the 9th Circuit appeal and postponed the decision to its next session. I am not a lawyer, but I wish they could walk with me on my farm for a day. This could help them decide. 2) If there are regulations that allow the possession of pigs, beware of the restrictions imposed on this property: plot size, permit or license requirements, zoning, number of pigs, size of pigs, etc. Sometimes a regulation that allows big-bellied pigs can be worse than no regulation at all. Proponents of Proposition 12, which was passed by California voters in November 2018, say it will make food production more humane by setting minimum space requirements for breeding pigs, laying hens and calves raised for calves. Often, these regulations limit the number of pigs (or livestock) to a single animal. These are often based on pus breeding regulations.
The truth is that pigs are herd animals and work much better than pets with at least one partner. Pregnancy boxes and farrowing boxes – for newborn piglets separated from the mother and breastfeeding through slats – are standard. After three weeks, the piglets are removed, and the sows are impregnated again. Sows can produce up to three litters per year, according to the American Meat Science Association. The process is usually repeated until a sow is three or four years old, and then it is slaughtered for meat. Jim Monroe, a spokesman for the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), a trade group that opposes california`s law, says conventional pig farming “is informed by veterinarians based on the animals` behavior and what is needed to protect pigs and ensure food safety.” Monroe says that “no one is more committed to excellent animal care than American pig farmers.” Josh Balk, vice president of livestock protection at the Humane Society of the United States, which designed Proposition 12, says the boxes cause physical and psychological suffering. It`s “absolute common sense that an animal should be able to turn around,” Balk says, citing studies that have shown that canned sows can suffer from weakened bones, overgrown hooves, urinary tract infections and repeated stick bites — behaviors that often indicate psychological distress. Get up, lie down, turn around and stretch your legs. Pregnant pigs should live in spaces large enough to do these things, Californians explained. Nine states have banned the use of pregnancy boxes.
In 2018, California voters passed a voting initiative that went even further. Starting in January 2022, California will ban the sale of meat produced across the United States by pigs whose mothers were kept in pregnancy boxes and by calves locked in veal boxes. The initiative — almost identical to that of Massachusetts in 2016 — also bans the sale of eggs placed by caged chickens. Pigs are “very intelligent, curious, empathetic social beings,” the proponents said, citing a study that found that pigs were able to identify their newborn piglets by voice. “As such, they deserve to be allowed to turn around at least in their enclosures,” they added in a letter written by the Harvard Animal Law and Policy Clinic. If you already own a pig but don`t know if it`s legal, ask for a copy of all the regulations, but don`t give them your name or address and tell them you already own a potted belly pig. The Supreme Court on Monday put pork on its legal menu and challenged a California law that regulates pig farming. Pork producers said it set unrealistic requirements and boiled down to regulating the industry nationally. Austin Frerick, deputy director and agriculture specialist at the Thurman Arnold Project, a competition policy research group at Yale University, expects the opposite to be true. “The ones complaining are the industrial factories that pack pigs in metal sheds that never see the light of day, or even a blade of grass,” he says.
“That is why I consider this legislation to be extremely farmer-friendly, as it will improve the market position of traditional pig farmers compared to corporate farms. (Since 1992, for example, in Iowa, the number of farms has decreased by 80 percent, but the number of pigs has increased as small farms have been replaced by CAFOs on an industrial scale.) The law in question is Proposition 12, which was approved by voters in 2018 and makes it illegal to sell pork in California, unless the pork it comes from was born of a sow housed with at least 24 square feet of space and conditions that allow the sow to turn around freely without touching its pen.