“To amend the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit the confinement of pregnant pigs, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section states the following congressional findings: (1) intensive confinement of pigs causes physical problems and psychological anguish; (2) dozens of major food retailers and more than 10 states have acted to phase out such confinement; (3) at least two states forbid sales of pork from factory farms using gestation crates, based on human health and animal welfare concerns; and (4) ending these practices aligns the pork industry with consumer preferences.
This section amends the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) by adding a new section that prohibits confining any breeding pig (i.e., female pig six months or older kept for commercial breeding or pregnant) in a manner preventing it from lying down, standing up, or turning around in a complete circle without impediment, including tethers, or touching enclosure sides or other animals; beginning December 31, 2025, also prohibits spaces with less than 24 square feet of usable floorspace per pig, calculated by dividing total enclosure floorspace by number of pigs. Exceptions apply to confinement during transportation, veterinary procedures under licensed supervision, the five-day period before farrowing, and slaughter under the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (7 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.). Violations are subject to penalties under the Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.); the prohibition does not preempt stricter state or local laws and includes severability and a rule preserving the Secretary of Agriculture's authorities. The section further requires the Secretary to establish a financial assistance program for pig producers to comply with the prohibition, prioritizing independent producers (i.e., those owning their own pigs rather than contracted to others), funded by amending the National Pork Board's standing promotion order to set aside at least $10 million from producer assessments for the first fiscal year after enactment and the following fiscal year. The amendment applies beginning one year after enactment.