Definitions.

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  • (1)
    • (a) "Cage-free housing system" means an indoor or outdoor controlled environment for egg-laying hens where:
      • (i) for an indoor environment, the egg-laying hens are free to roam unrestricted except by the following:
        • (A) exterior walls; or
        • (B) interior fencing used to contain the entire egg-laying hen flock within the building or subdivide flocks into smaller groups if farm employees can walk through each contained or subdivided area to provide care to egg-laying hens and if each egg-laying hen has at least the amount of usable floor space per hen required by the 2017 edition of the United Egg Producers' Animal Husbandry Guidelines for U.S. Egg-Laying Flocks: Guidelines for Cage-Free Housing;
      • (ii) egg-laying hens are provided enrichments that allow them to exhibit natural behaviors including, at a minimum, scratch areas, perches, nest boxes, and dust bathing areas; and
      • (iii) farm employees can provide care while standing within the egg-laying hens' usable floor space.
    • (b) "Cage-free housing system" includes, to the extent the system is a system described in Subsection (1)(a) and is not excluded by Subsection (1)(c), a multi-tiered aviary, partially slatted system, single-level all-litter floor system, and any future system that is a system described in Subsection (1)(a) and is not excluded by Subsection (1)(c).
    • (c) "Cage-free housing system" does not include systems commonly described as battery cages, colony cages, enriched cages, enriched colony cages, modified cages, convertible cages, furnished cages, or similar cage systems.
  • (2) "Egg-laying hen" means a female domesticated chicken kept for the purpose of commercial egg production.
  • (3) "Enclosure" means a structure used to confine an egg-laying hen.
  • (4)
    • (a) "Farm" means the land, buildings, support facilities, and other equipment that are wholly or partially used for the commercial production of animals or animal products used for food.
    • (b) "Farm" does not include live animal markets or official plants at which mandatory inspection is maintained under the federal Egg Products Inspection Act, 21 U.S.C. Sec. 1031 et seq.
  • (5) "Farm owner or operator" means a person that owns a controlling interest in a farm or controls the operations of a farm.
  • (6) "Multi-tiered aviary" means a cage-free housing system where egg-laying hens have unfettered access to multiple elevated flat platforms that provide the egg-laying hens with usable floor space both on top of and underneath the platforms.
  • (7) "Partially slatted system" means a cage-free housing system where egg-laying hens have unfettered access to elevated flat platforms under which manure drops through the flooring to a pit or litter removal belt below.
  • (8) "Shell egg" means a whole egg of an egg-laying hen in the egg's shell form, intended for use as human food.
  • (9) "Single-level all-litter floor system" means a cage-free housing system bedded with litter where egg-laying hens have limited or no access to elevated flat platforms.
  • (10)
    • (a) "Usable floor space" means the total square footage of floor space provided to each egg-laying hen, as calculated by dividing the total square footage of floor space provided to egg-laying hens in an enclosure by the total number of egg-laying hens in that enclosure.
    • (b) "Usable floor space" includes both ground space and elevated level or nearly level flat platforms upon which hens can roost, but does not include perches or ramps.




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