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California to vote on tougher animal housing rules

California voters will decide next week on an initiative that would mandate larger, cage-free spaces for pigs, veal calves and egg-laying hens.

Proposition 12 builds on the Prop 2 initiative passed in 2008, which animal activists say didn’t go far enough in terms of enforcement. Prop 12 closes loopholes in Prop 2 and would require each farm animal to have a specific amount of floor space beginning in 2020.

The measure, if passed, would apply not only to California farmers but also farmers in other states who ship products into California.

The Humane Society of the United States sponsored the measure, which is opposed by the National Pork Producers Council and other livestock groups.