Animal group wants end to cage lawsuit

The Humane Society of the United States filed a motion last week to intervene in and dismiss a state court lawsuit challenging Proposition 2, the 2008 California voter-approved law regulating egg-laying hen cages.

Last month, the Association of California Egg Farmers filed suit in Fresno County Superior Court seeking a determination that Proposition 2 is unconstitutionally vague.

Egg farmers contend that Proposition 2's lack of clarity in size and density requirements prevents them from modifying hen housing facilities by the Jan. 1, 2015, deadline.

The proposition was pushed by the Humane Society. In its motion, the organization said the egg farmers' lawsuit was just the latest in a series of steps to stall a humane, voter-approved measure.

"The people of California have spoken, and the federal courts have spoken. California will phase out some of the cruelest confinement practices as of 2015," said Jonathan Lovvorn, chief counsel for animal protection litigation for the HSUS. "Instead of filing duplicative and frivolous lawsuits, the egg industry should be working to implement Proposition 2's straightforward animal welfare requirements."