A bill approved by the Massachusetts Legislature to delay enforcement of rules called for in Question 3, the Commonwealth’s animal confinement voter initiative, is on its way to the Governor Charlie Baker to be signed into law.
In 2016, Massachusetts voters approved a ballot question imposing new standards on the treatment of animals used to produce eggs, pork and veal. That law is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2022. The issue of concern is Question 3’s deadline prohibiting the sale of meat in Massachusetts from sows or the offspring of sows housed in a gestation crate, the North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) commented in a statement on Tuesday.
“We appreciate the actions of Governor Charlie Baker and the Legislature to put Massachusetts consumers first and avoid further price hikes for pork,” Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts said in a release. “We welcome the expertise of the Department of Agriculture Resources in promulgating new rules and urge the Department to consider changes to provisions that are unworkable or overly burdensome.”
Last August, the Meat Institute submitted comments to the Massachusetts Attorney General urging changes to the then proposed rules.
“Provisions related to the certification and record keeping of every transaction of hogs or pork products by packer processors are burdensome and costly,” the Meat Institute said in a statement.
More from Farm Journal’s PORK:
Pork Industry Urges Massachusetts to Alter, Delay Production Initiative
Prop 12 Countdown: California Food Industry Leaders Fight Back
