BY GUEST CONTRIBUTORS

Thanks to a flurry of undercover exposés, documentaries and news coverage over the past two decades, Americans are more aware than ever of how badly animals are abused in industrial animal agriculture. Most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has unveiled how systemic maltreatment of animals directly and indirectly impacts human health. Now, New Jersey has a chance to address this critical issue.

Few factory farming practices are worse than the extreme confinement of mother pigs and male calves confined for veal. A bill pending in the New Jersey legislature, A5236/S3401, would outlaw the caging of these animals. Its prime sponsors are Assemblyman Raj Mukherji and Senator Vin Gopal, who are joined by an expansive bipartisan group of co-sponsors. A coalition of over 50 organizations and New Jersey-based businesses support the bill and are now urging Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin to post it for floor votes before the end of the year.

Studies show that pigs are more intelligent than dogs, yet the life of a pig on a factory farm is one of deprivation and frustration. Most pork products sold in the U.S. still comes from supply chains in which mother pigs are locked in metal gestation crates. These cages are barely larger than a pig’s body, preventing her from turning around, taking more than a step forward or backward, or expressing other natural behaviors. Calves, meanwhile, endure similar abuse for veal.

New Jersey’s lawmakers have twice voted overwhelmingly to ban gestation crates. They did so with enormous public support; polling has shown that over 90% of New Jersey voters wanted these inhumane crates banned. Unfortunately, then-Gov. Chris Christie vetoed the legislation both times.

There is even more momentum this time around. The current legislation has unanimously passed both Senate and Assembly committees. Both the Senate majority and minority leaders are joined by two dozen other legislators who are co-sponsoring the bill. The outpouring of such strong bipartisan support for a piece of legislation reflects the will of thousands of New Jersey constituents who have contacted their legislators this year to voice support for the bill.

Ten other states have outlawed gestation crates and nine have banned veal crates. These include agricultural states like Ohio and Michigan. Numerous companies have pledged to reduce or phase out use of these cruel methods or the sourcing from entities utilizing them. Campbell Soup said, “In 2012, we made a commitment to eliminate gestation crates from our pork supply chain. With our suppliers’ engagement, we intend to reach that goal no later than 2022.” Hormel Foods does not object to the ban.

The goal of eliminating extreme confinement of farmed animals is even more urgent now. Scientists and the United Nations have recognized the overcrowding of animals in industrial animal agriculture as a leading potential cause of future pandemics. COVID-19 is believed to have started in animals before spilling over to people. Cage facilities, in which stressed, often-sick animals are packed tightly together, provide the ideal breeding ground for diseases to multiply and mutate. Thus, A5236/S3401 is key to protecting public health as well as animals.

Animal abuse is wrong, regardless of whether the victim is a dog or a pig, a cat or a calf. The public already has taken a clear position that cruel crates have no place in the Garden State. It is time for the legislature to send A5236/S3401 to Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk for his signature.

Chris Holbein is the director of Public Policy for Farm Animal Protection at the Humane Society of the United States, and Brian Hackett is a legislative affairs manager for the Animal Legal Defense Fund and lives in Burlington County.