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Utah Code Title 4. Utah Agricultural Code § 4-4a-102. Definitions

Current as of January 01, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

As used in this chapter:

(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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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Utah Code Title 4. Utah Agricultural Code § 4-4a-102. Definitions - last updated January 01, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/ut/title-4-utah-agricultural-code/ut-code-sect-4-4a-102/

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