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Some of you may remember the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act on which Californians voted last November. Proposition 2 specifically banned three methods of housing livestock that are widely considered to be inhumane and unhealthy: veal crates, gestation crates for pigs, and battery cages for chickens. In essence, Prop. 2 said that henceforth, farm animals must be kept in a manner that allows them to turn around freely, lie down, stand up, and fully extend their limbs.
The residents of CA-10 voted overwhelmingly (65.6% - 34.4%) to do away with these barbarous animal cages. But one of the people who now wants to represent us in Congress stood tall in opposition to Proposition 2. That would be "rancher" John Garamendi.
Here's a brief rundown of the three types of cages that John Garamendi thinks should be used in California.
Veal Crates
Veal calves are taken from their mothers immediately after birth and spend the entirety of their short 14-week life "confined in veal crates, usually measuring 2-feet-wide, [where they] cannot turn around, stretch their limbs, or even lie down comfortably."
Gestation Crates for Pigs
A gestation crate, also known as a sow stall, is a 7 ft by 2 ft metal enclosure used in intensive pig farming, in which a female breeding pig (sow) may be confined during pregnancy, and in effect for most of her adult life. [...]
[E]ach pregnancy last[s] four months, with an average of 2.5 litters every year. Sows, which can weigh 600 lbs, spend most of their three or four years of adult life in crates, giving birth to between five and eight litters. As the sows grow larger, they no longer fit in the crates, and must sleep on their chests, unable to turn, until they are slaughtered.
Battery Cages for Chickens
Animal welfare scientists have been critical of battery cages because they do not provide hens with sufficient space to stand, walk, flap their wings, perch, or make a nest.
Let me repeat that. Last November, Prop. 2 was approved by voters in CA-10 by a margin of 197,258 to 103,294 or 65.6% - 34.4%. John Garamendi opposed it. Yet he thinks we should send him to Washington, DC to represent us. Are you confused yet?
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