S-3849.1  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 6628

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     2000 Regular Session

By Senators Kohl‑Welles, Thibaudeau, Goings and Prentice

Read first time 01/20/2000.  Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Rural Economic Development.

Requiring adequate sized cages for egg-laying hens.

    AN ACT Relating to egg-laying hens; adding a new section to chapter 69.25 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The legislature finds that:

    (1) Egg-laying hens are frequently subjected to cramped living quarters;

    (2) These cramped cages often lead to needless suffering for the hens;

    (3) The cramped conditions may cause health problems for the hens;

    (4) Cramped living conditions for egg-laying hens, in battery systems of cages, are cruel and should be improved; and

    (5) Egg-laying hens should live in cages of adequate size to accommodate their behavioral needs and allow them to move about within the cage.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 69.25 RCW to read as follows:

    (1) No egg handler nor dealer shall, as of July 1, 2005, keep any egg-laying hen in a cage with less than eighty-six square inches of floor space per hen.

    (2) The director shall adopt necessary rules to implement and enforce this section.

                            --- END ---