ANIMAL rights and vegetarian activists could have the authority to enter and search California farm buildings and arrest producers for suspected violations of animal welfare laws if California voters approve a ballot initiative this fall, Feedstuffs has learned.

This is the conclusion of attorneys who are analyzing the legal consequences of the initiative for agricultural and food interests in California, whose "Californians for SAFE Food" coalition was organized to educate Californians on the initiative and urge them to vote no on the measure (story, page 21).

The determination makes it exceedingly important for producers and production companies, trade associations and allied industry across the U.S. to become involved in the "SAFE Food" coalition, its supporters said.

The initiative--which has been designated Proposition 2, or "Prop 2"--is directed at the treatment of farm animals and, if passed, would require that farm animals not be confined or tethered in a manner that prevents an animal from lying down, standing up, turning around and fully extending its limbs (Feedstuffs, March 3 and April 14).

For a hen in an egg production system, fully...