HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES.... has become a regulating commission....of the UNITED STATES?

Hello all,

 

The article below: In simpler terms "we'll pass these unconstitutional laws in CA and then force that industry to capitulate (surrender to animal rights extremists terms) in California and make them agree to support federal legislation that will force everyone in the same agriculture business in the other 49 states into the same policies and regulations". What happened to state's rights here? Can you say federally forced socialist policies set to destroy America's agriculture industries unless our state legislators have the guts to uphold their oath, perform the duty to support and defend our constitutiona and do their jobs?

 

Thank you,

U.S. Army ret SFC B.L. Cozad Jr

 

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HSUS, UEP reach agreement to transition to colonies   (7/7/2011) Rod Smith In an undoubtedly historic and stunning announcement today, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the United Egg Producers (UEP) said they have reached an agreement -- following "exhaustive" conference calls and meetings -- to jointly petition Congress for legislation to transition the commercial egg industry from one primarily of conventional cage housing to "enriched" colony housing. The goal is to have the law in place by June 30 next year and the transition fully implemented by Dec. 31, 2029, according to the announcement. The concept is to have one, national hen housing and space standard through federal legislation rather than a patchwork of state laws and regulations that would create "chaotic marketplace disruption" in which a producer with customers in several states would need to find ways to meet conflicting and different standards, UEP said in a statement. The legislation would address the vague language of California's proposition adopted by voters in 2008 (Feedstuffs, Nov. 10, 2008) requiring expanded hen space but not defining the amount of additional space and would preempt other state laws like those in Michigan, Oregon and Washington, UEP said. As part of the agreement, HSUS and UEP said they will not "initiate, fund or support" any ballot initiatives or local or state legislation that would define hen space, and they will not "initiate, fund or support" investigation of or litigation against each other or UEP members. Talks between the two parties started after HSUS said it recognized that there were benefits to colonies, reversing a position that it only supported cage-free egg production systems (Feedstuffs, July 26, 2010). Colonies offer "enrichments" such as nests, perches and scratch areas and sufficient space for hens to perform more natural behaviors, and colonies are approved by the American Humane Assn. (Feedstuffs, June 28, 2010). The HSUS-UEP agreement calls for colonies to be phased in from 67 sq. in. per bird for white layers to 124 sq. in. and from 76 sq. in. per bird for brown layers to 144 sq. in. by the end of 2029. The space standards are science based. Producers are prohibited from installing new "unenrichable" cages effective at the end of this year. HSUS and UEP said they also have agreed on science-based standards for molting without feed withdrawal, air quality and ammonia levels inside of houses and on-farm euthanasia. HSUS and UEP said they have not proposed to include any other species in the federal legislation and would oppose such an effort. UEP adopted animal welfare standards 11 years ago that were established -- and are kept updated -- by an independent advisory committee of animal ethicists and poultry scientists (Feedstuffs, Oct. 18, 2000). The standards specify cage space, hen house comfort levels, beak trimming, feeding and watering practices, molting without feed withdrawal, on-farm euthanasia and transportation and are incorporated into UEP's animal welfare program, "UEP Certified." Producers enrolled in the program are audited by third parties every year.