Ninth Circuit kills pork industry challenge to California confinement rules
The appeals court found California's voter-approved animal confinement standards aren't unconstitutional — even if they will dramatically impact the nation's pork producers.
(AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)
(CN) — California’s voter-approved animal confinement standards for meat sold to Golden State consumers do not violate the Commerce Clause of the Constitution by forcing out-of-state producers to change their business operations, a Ninth Circuit panel ruled Wednesday.
The 24-page order penned by U.S. Circuit Judge Sandra S. Ikuta, a George W. Bush appointee, marks the latest blow to the meat industry’s attempt to kill standards enshrined in Proposition 12, a law approved by California voters in 2018 which regulates the production of veal, pork and eggs sold in the state.