Source:  NC Pork Council, 9/25/09

Michigan is poised to become the next state to adopt a ban on certain farm animal housing systems, including sow gestation stalls.
 
The state's pork industry supports the proposed law and expects the legislation, which was approved by a wide 87-20 margin in the House, to also win easy approval in the Senate.
 
"We wanted to avoid the negative implications and uncertainty that a ballot measure might bring," said Sam Hines, executive vice president of the Michigan Pork Producers Assn. (MPPA).
 
The pork group met with representatives of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to craft the proposal following indications that Michigan was being considered for an initiative petition drive similar to ones that have already succeeded in Florida, Arizona and California.
 
The measure will give pork producers 10 years to phase out gestation stalls. Egg farmers will have to eliminate battery cages under the same time line, while veal producers have a shorter period to stop using crates.
 
The Michigan proposal is very similar to the law Colorado adopted in 2008, Hines said. Producers will still be able to use stalls for breeding purposes up until the time it is confirmed that a sow is pregnant. The legislation does not affect the use of farrowing stalls. Violation of the law calls for a civil penalty, unlike the misdemeanor contained in the law passed in California.