WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court justices sounded wary Tuesday of California’s animal welfare law and its protections for breeding pigs, warning it could set off a wave of state laws that put a wide array of restrictions on products moving nationwide.
Pork producers based in the Midwest challenged the California ballot measure that would ban the sale of pork meat in the state if it originated with the extreme confining of breeding pigs in narrow metal cages.
They argued that Proposition 12, which was approved by California voters in 2018, is unconstitutional because its “practical effect” would be to force hog farmers across the nation to make costly changes in how they raise and confine their breeding pigs. They noted that more than 99% of the pork sold in California comes from other states.
