Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/22pdf/21-468_5if6.pdf
Page Number: 9.0

Cite as:  598 U. S. ____ (2023) 

3 

Opinion of the Court 

App. §§1–3, 1–5 (Cum. Supp. 2023).  Nor is that State alone. 
Florida’s  Constitution  prohibits  “any  person  [from]  con-
fin[ing] a pig during pregnancy . . . in such a way that she
is  prevented  from  turning  around  freely.”  Art.  X,  §21(a).
Arizona, Maine, Michigan, Oregon, and Rhode Island, too, 
have laws regulating animal confinement practices within
their  borders.  See  Ariz.  Rev.  Stat.  Ann.  §13–2910.07(A)
(2018);  Me.  Rev.  Stat.  Ann.,  Tit.  7,  §§4020(1)–(2)  (2018);
Mich.  Comp.  Laws  §287.746(2)  (West  Cum.  Supp.  2022); 
Ore. Rev. Stat. §§600.150(1)–(2) (2021); R. I. Gen. Laws §4–
1.1–3 (Supp. 2022).

This case involves a challenge to a California law known 
as Proposition 12.  In November 2018 and with the support 
of about 63% of participating voters, California adopted a 
ballot initiative that revised the State’s existing standards
for the in-state sale of eggs and announced new standards
for the in-state sale of pork and veal products.  App. to Pet.
for Cert. 37a–46a.  As relevant here, Proposition 12 forbids
the in-state sale of whole pork meat that comes from breed-
ing pigs (or their immediate offspring) that are “confined in
a  cruel  manner.”  Cal.  Health  &  Safety  Code  Ann.
§25990(b)(2)  (West  Cum.  Supp.  2023).  Subject  to  certain
exceptions, the law deems confinement “cruel” if it prevents
a  pig  from  “lying  down,  standing  up,  fully  extending  [its] 
limbs, or turning around freely.”  §25991(e)(1).  Since Prop-
osition 12’s adoption, the State has begun developing “pro-
posed regulations” that would permit compliance “certi-
fication[s]”  to  be  issued  “by  non-governmental  third 
parties, many used for myriad programs (e.g., ‘organic’) al-
ready.”  Brief for Intervenor Respondents 30, n. 8.

A  spirited  debate  preceded  the  vote  on  Proposition  12. 
Proponents  observed  that,  in  some  farming  operations, 
pregnant  pigs  remain  “[e]ncased”  for  16  weeks  in  “fit-to-
size” metal crates.  M. Scully, A Brief for the Pigs: The Case 
of  National  Pork  Producers  Council  v.  Ross,  National  Re-
view, July 11, 2022, https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/