New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie Vetoes Bill That Would Prevent Cruelty to Pregnant Pigs

Just When You Wanted to Try Like This Man, This Comes Along

Chris Christie - Representing the Animal Cruelty Folks Cause No One Else Will?

The New Jersey legislature passed a law banning gestation crates for sows that were going to give birth.  Not familiar with gestation crates, us either.

Gestation crates are typically metal enclosures, about 7 feet long and 2 feet wide, in which a breeding sow is housed for much of her adult life.

.  Here is what the law would do.

The bill generally would have made it a violation of animal cruelty laws to house a pregnant sow in such a way that prevented it to freely turn around, stand up, lie down or fully extend its limbs.

Gosh who would support such a thing?  Oh yes, the pork industry.

The National Pork Producers Council praised the veto as a victory for farmers. "This is a great example of a governor standing up to powerful lobbying groups on behalf of small, independent farmers," President-elect Howard Hill said in a statement.

And its not like New Jersey has a big pork industry,

That this battle over gestation crates was being waged in New Jersey at all was unusual, as the state barely makes a squeal in the nation's pork industry. Farmers there raised barely 9,000 hogs in 2007, the most current USDA data. Iowa, the largest hog state, currently has about 20 million hogs, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

So why would Gov. Christie veto a bill to treat animals humanely?  Well he’s a Republican, it’s what they do.  Kinda makes one think that maybe Vegans are on to something.