States sue Massachusetts over animal confinement law

Indiana and 12 other states are suing Massachusetts over its farm animal confinement law, which is set to take effect in 2022. The lawsuit, which was filed by the State of Indiana in Supreme Court of the United States, takes exception to the future law, which makes it illegal for farmers to keep sows in gestation crates, layer hens in cages, or calves in veal crates. The law will also make it illegal for products raised in other states and not in accordance with those standards to be sold in Massachusetts.The law was approved through a ballot initiative, known as Question 3, in 2016, gaining approval from about 78 percent of Massachusetts voters.Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin joined Indiana in the suit. The states allege that the Massachusetts law is an effort to regulate farming in other states, which is a violation of the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.