WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. & ORLAND, Calif., Nov 05, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- This evening, Farm Sanctuary, the nation's leading farm animal protection organization, celebrates a landmark victory for farm animals: the passage of Proposition 2 in California. The YES on Prop 2 campaign was run by Californians for Humane Farms, a coalition headed by Farm Sanctuary and the Humane Society of the United States. This law phases out some of the most restrictive confinement systems used by factory farms -- gestation crates for breeding pigs, veal crates for calves and battery cages for egg laying hens -- affecting 20 million farm animals in the state by simply granting them space to stand up, stretch their limbs, turn around and lie down comfortably. This evening, Farm Sanctuary's President and Co-Founder Gene Baur released a statement on the Prop 2 victory:
"The passage of Prop 2 in the country's largest agricultural state marks a monumental victory for farm animals. This campaign did an amazing job of raising public awareness about the cruel treatment farm animals endure at the hands of an industry that has consistently fought meaningful change for animals. Farm Sanctuary supporters and campaign volunteers have seen California voters respond with reason and compassion agreeing that all animals deserve humane treatment. Today marks a significant change in the way we view and treat farm animals and falls closer in line with public sentiments and values of compassion. We look forward to seeing these confinement systems phased out nationwide."
The YES! on Prop 2 campaign has been the greatest undertaking on behalf of farm animals in U.S. history, raising enough public awareness and support to end three of the cruelest confinement systems with one ballot measure in spite of massive funding from the industry--backed opposition. Media outlets throughout the state and nationwide have covered Prop 2 and thousands of campaign volunteers have hit the streets consistently during the past several months to raise public awareness about farm animal protection issues.
Farm Sanctuary was the second largest nonprofit contributor to the YES on Prop 2 campaign. Many Farm Sanctuary members showed their support through individual donations to Californians for Humane Farms, as well as hundreds of hours of volunteer time working on the YES! on Prop 2 campaign.
Farm Sanctuary has been instrumental in setting the groundwork for many of the first victories on behalf of farm animals in California and nationwide, and was a lead sponsor of two previous successful ballot initiatives in Florida (ban on gestation crates) and Arizona (ban on gestation and veal crates):
More at link
|