Farmed Animals

More than 9 billion land animals are raised and slaughtered for food in the United States each year. Most live in conditions that would constitute cruelty if applied to dogs or cats — yet federal law explicitly excludes poultry and many other farm animals from basic welfare protections. LOHV works at the state level, where change is happening.

What We Are Working On

• Gestation Crate Bans: Pregnant pigs are often confined in gestation crates so small they cannot turn around for months at a time. Twelve states have banned or significantly restricted this practice. LOHV supports these bans in every state where chapters operate.
• Battery Cage Legislation: Hens in conventional egg production are often confined to spaces smaller than a sheet of paper. LOHV supports cage-free requirements and enforcement of existing welfare standards — following the template of California's Prop 12.
• Opposing Ag-Gag Laws: Ag-gag laws criminalize undercover investigations of factory farms, silencing the only tool that reliably exposes illegal animal cruelty. LOHV opposes these bills and supports their repeal wherever they have passed.
• Slaughterhouse Accountability: LOHV supports legislation requiring cameras in slaughter facilities, strict enforcement of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, and meaningful penalties for violations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are farm animals protected by anti-cruelty laws?

In most states, farmed animals are explicitly exempted from anti-cruelty statutes as long as the treatment is considered a "standard agricultural practice." This loophole allows confinement systems and procedures that would be illegal if applied to pets. LOHV works to close these exemptions.

What is an ag-gag law?

Ag-gag laws make it illegal to record video or audio inside a farm or slaughterhouse, or to misrepresent oneself to gain employment at such a facility. They are designed to prevent the kind of undercover investigations that have revealed widespread animal cruelty and food safety violations. Federal courts have struck down several of these laws as unconstitutional.

Why does LOHV focus on state legislatures for farmed animal issues?

Federal law provides minimal protection for farmed animals. The most effective progress has come at the state level — from gestation crate bans in Florida (2002) to Prop 12 in California (2018). State elections are where humane voters can most directly move the needle.