BOISE -- Idaho is among states watching to see if a new California animal cruelty law drives flocks of big egg farms there to fly the coop.
In 2008, California voters backed Proposition 2, to ban cramped cages for laying hens by 2015. Neither Idaho nor Nevada, where some officials are already courting the Golden State egg industry, have restrictions on "battery cages" that leave chickens little room to spread their wings.
Idaho Sen. Tim Corder has no desire to change that in his state -- industry should decide, Corder insists.
Still, the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee does want to revamp Idaho's rules governing where and how giant poultry farms are operated, in case henpecked California producers come calling.
He wants to skirt pitfalls that accompanied explosive growth of Idaho's dairy industry. Idaho went from 180,000 cows in 1990 to 530,000 in 2009, catching regulators flat-footed and prompting environmentalists to call foul.
