Published 7/1/2020

Some good news to celebrate: Colorado just banned the cruel cage confinement of egg-laying hens!

Today, Governor Jared Polis signed HB20-1343 into law, which bans the use of cages on Colorado farms, sets standards for cage-free confinement, and requires that all eggs sold in the state (whether sourced from Colorado or not) come from cage-free farms. This marks the 7th state to ban battery cages and the 6th state to ban the sale of eggs from caged hens.

With almost 5.5 million egg-laying hens housed on Colorado farms—in addition, to millions more out-of-state birds that provide eggs for Colorado consumers—this law is set to have major, meaningful implications for farmed animals around the country.

Specifically, the law, which is set to phase into effect at the beginning of 2023, includes the following important protections for egg-laying hens:

1. Requires all egg-laying hens are housed in cage-free systems;
2. Sets minimum floor space standards to give birds more room to roam;
3. Mandates the use of species-important enrichments that allow for normal natural behaviors, such as perching, nesting, and dust bathing;
4. Bans the sale of whole, shell eggs from out-of-state systems that fail to meet these standards;
5. And requires all farms that produce eggs to be sold in Colorado be annually certified as compliant with these new standards.

Compassion USA would like to thank the Colorado activists and animal protection organizations who spearheaded the effort to pass this critical legislation! Let’s work to ensure this isn’t the only cage-free bill we pass this year.

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