Under a law signed on Thursday, Michigan will become the largest egg-producing state, and the fifth state overall, to require farmers to switch to cage-free egg production. The Humane Society of the United States, which has campaigned nationwide against so-called battery cages for egg-laying hens, said success in Michigan, a farm state, “shows just how rapidly American views on the treatment of farm animals are evolving.”
The new law requires Michigan farmers to modify poultry barns for cage-free production by the end of 2024 and, beginning in 2025, bans the sale in Michigan of eggs from other states that are not produced under cage-free conditions, said the Associated Press. Lt. Gov. Gavin Gilchrist signed the bill in the absence of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is on a trade mission to Israel.
“Today, more than 20 percent of the industry is cage-free,” said the Humane Society, compared to 3 percent when it began its drive against “extreme confinement” 15 years ago. Michigan joins Massachusetts, California, Oregon, and Washington State, which have enacted cage-free laws, either by legislation or voter referendum.