Toward the end of 2021, the Massachusetts legislature strengthened the 2016 ballot question known as Question 3 — the Act to Prevent Cruelty to Farm Animals, to ensure certain egg-laying hens in cage-free housing also have critical behavioral enrichments, such as nest boxes, perches, and dust-bathing and scratching areas.

Significantly, in a move that will protect at least two million more hens each year, the legislature also expanded the law’s protections to hens used to produce liquid eggs, a product sent to restaurants and other foodservice markets.

For more information on our efforts in the legislature, please visit mspca.org/advocacy.