BOSTON — A US federal court judge for the District of Massachusetts signed a stay that delayed the enforcement of a Massachusetts state law indicating sow confinement requirements until Aug. 23.

The Act to Prevent Cruelty to Farm Animals, also known as Question 3, was set to go into effect July 12. Massachusetts voters first approved the initiative in 2016.

Last August, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) filed a lawsuit that stopped the law. It was also put on hold once in Dec. 2021.

“Extending the current stay on implementation of Q3 until August 23 allows Massachusetts to work with NPPC and its coalition partners to work on addressing the transshipment issue so pork can continue to reach other New England states as well as provide guidance to the industry and supply chain to ensure a smooth transition as Q3 is implemented,” NPPC said in a recent capital update report.

Once the law starts, Question 3 would ban the sale of uncooked whole pork meat that does not meet the state’s sow housing requirements and would prohibit the transshipment of whole pork through the state. 

Similar legal questions have been going on around California’s Proposition 12 ruling. Last month, the state delayed compliance with Prop 12 until Dec. 31, giving the pork industry more time to figure out how to handle the law. 

In May, the US Supreme Court ruled against the NPPC and the American Farm Bureau Federation, which challenged the measure. 

A group of Republican senators recently introduced planned legislation to counteract the California law. Republican governors sent a letter to Congress asking for a new bill to be passed regarding Prop 12.