Missouri’s Attorney General Chris Koster and plaintiffs from Alabama, Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska and Oklahoma have filed an appeal in a case against California’s landmark animal welfare legislation, Proposition 2. Proposition 2 requires eggs produced in California and those imported into the state to meet enlarged-cage standards for egg-laying hens. In October 2014, a California district judge threw out the lawsuit. Utah has filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs.
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster told Julie Harker (@brownfield) of Brownfield Ag News:
“The egg case is a very important case. A lot of people have made fun of us for bringing this case and yet, increasingly as egg prices are now soaring because of the acts of the California legislature, they are recognizing that we were right to bring this case.”
In their appeal, the plaintiffs argue that despite being among the top five egg producers, California is actually a net importer of eggs. Their conclusion? “The California law violates interstate commerce by forcing other states to comply with California’s rigid production standards.”
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