SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Humane Society of the United States yesterday announced that almost 800,000 petition signatures have been collected in its effort to place a “Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act” on California’s 2008 presidential election ballot, exceeding the number of required signatures by 82%. If enacted, the law will require California’s pork processors to eliminate the use of gestation crates; the state’s veal processors to eliminate the use of veal crates; and, most notably, the state’s conventional egg producers to eliminate the use of battery cages, making their operations cage-free, all by 2015. In separate news, HSUS yesterday sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture, alleging that a department provision involving veterinary inspections of “downer” cattle had been illegally weakened by the agency.

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