Farm Sanctuary hopes to bring Prop 2 to Illinois. Proposition 2 was a ballot initiative that passed with overwhelming support last November in California.

The new law will eliminate some of the worst factory farming abuses such as battery cages crowded with egg laying hens, gestation crates used to confine pregnant pigs, and small stalls where calves to be used for veal are tied.

These animals are barely able to move at all. This is how they are forced to live. For more on this and the cruelty they endure.....

Illinois, S.B. 1337, is not a ballot initiative, but it is a bill pending in the state legislature that would make it illegal to tether or confine these animals, egg laying hens, pregnant pigs or veal calves, on a farm "for all or the majority of any day, in a manner that prevents the animals from ....lying down, standing up, and fully extending his or her limbs or turning around freely."

And, "turning around freely" means "turning in a complete circle without any impediment, including a tether, and without touching the side of an enclosure." 

Not too much to ask for.

Rodeo and other exhibitions are exempt. Confinement for veterinary purposes, transportation or scientific or agricultural research is also exempt. A violation is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $500 and 180 days in jail.

The bill was introduced by Illinois State Sen. James A. DeLeo. It has been assigned to the Illinois Senate Agriculture and Conservation Committee.

Colorado, Arizona, Oregon, and Florida along with California have a similar law for pregnant pigs. The laws in California, Colorado, and Arizona also protect calves to be used for veal.  Only California's law will prohibit the crowding of egg laying hens into battery cages.  

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Here is a copy of the bill. Contact Farm Sanctuary for more information.

Contact Committee members here and urge them to support this bill, S.B. 1337.  

Also, find Illinois state representatives here  and state senators here.  Write or call and urge them to support this bill, S.B. 1337. If you live in Illinois, go here to find your state legislators and when you write or call, let them know you live in their districts.