AVMA weighs in on California livestock housing referendum

Proposal could be harmful, AVMA says; sparks discord within CVMA

An upcoming California referendum on mandatory changes to livestock confinement practices has the AVMA concerned the proposal could compromise animal welfare by requiring producers to adopt systems that don’t account for all aspects of humane treatment.

Although reluctant to involve the AVMA in state politics, preferring instead to address veterinary and animal-related issues at the national level, Association leaders believe the referendum, sponsored by national organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States, warranted a response because it is part of a larger, state-by-state campaign targeting food animal production.

The referendum, known as the Standards for Confining Farm Animals, or Proposition 2, has roiled the nation’s largest state veterinary association. The California VMA’s support for Proposition 2 caused small numbers of CVMA members—including the chair of the CVMA agriculture committee—and unaffiliated large animal veterinarians to form an organization opposed to the proposal. This new group, the Association of California Veterinarians, intends on speaking for veterinarians on matters pertaining to California’s animal agriculture industry.

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