Group seeks initiative regulating egg industry, rejects compromise crafted by Legislature

By MITCH LIES

Capital Press

SALEM -- Oregon egg producers say cage restrictions sought in a proposed ballot initiative would cost farmers millions of dollars and endanger the industry.

The Humane Society of the U.S. filed a petition with the Oregon secretary of state April 25 for a ballot initiative it is calling the "Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act."

In it, the society asks voters to require farmers to give egg-laying hens room to fully extend their wings, a requirement of at least 216 square inches of floor space per bird.

If passed, the new standard would take effect Jan. 1, 2019.

Greg Satrum, owner of Willamette Egg Farms in Aurora, Ore., said adopting the standard would cost his farm $80 million and decimate the Oregon industry.

"It would shut us down," he said of Willamette Egg Farm.

Most eggs in Oregon are produced in what is known as battery cages. The cages provide between 67 and 77 square inches of floor space per bird.

The HSUS filing came just days after lawmakers in the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee scaled back egg-laying hen standards in a legislative bill brought by the HSUS. The society wanted a minimum of 144 square inches of floor space per bird, according to HSUS Oregon Director Scott Beckstead.

Lawmakers instead adopted a 116-square-inch standard, the standard used by the American Humane Association for its enriched colony housing certification.

"If this passes, we will have some of the most forward-looking hen-housing standards in the country," Eric Hagedorn, a lobbyist representing the Oregon egg industry, said of the legislation.

In amending Senate Bill 805, lawmakers also gave the industry 15 years to adopt the new standard.

"We see it as a good bill that does a lot for animal welfare and also protects Oregon farmers," said Ryan Mann, policy analyst for Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem.

Satrum said adopting the 116-square-inch standard would cost about $40 million.

"Spread over 15 years, it's doable," Satrum said. "It's not easy, but it's doable."

HSUS sought a seven-year transition period in its original bill.

The HSUS petition also would prohibit Oregon sales of shell eggs not produced under the same minimum floor-space standard, a prohibition that would dramatically raise egg costs throughout Oregon, Hagedorn said.

Among three chief petitioners on the initiative is Kelly Peterson, vice president of field services for HSUS.

The petition is the first of several steps HSUS must take before the initiative would go before voters. The next step involves gathering 1,000 sponsorship signatures.

Once those are validated, the attorney general writes a ballot title, which could be challenged.

Ultimately, petitioners need to gather approximately 82,000 valid signatures to place the initiative on a ballot.

The earliest the issue is likely to go before voters is November 2012, Hagedorn said. A similar initiative was approved by California voters in 2008.

If approved by voters, the initiative's standards would supersede any statute then on the books. But because the measure is a statutory initiative, the Legislature could later adopt a different set of standards.