The San Diego County Veterinary Medical Association says it supports a ban on cages that prevent chickens from being able to spread their wings, Director Pauline White said earlier this week.

The campaign in support of Proposition 2, scheduled to go before voters in November, listed the association on its Web site along with the Animal Emergency Clinic of San Diego and at least 28 individual veterinarians in North County. About 950 people, including large numbers of people inside and outside of California, have donated to the campaign.

Egg ranchers in San Diego County and elsewhere in the state have said the measure could harm or even destroy California's egg industry by exposing the state to imports from other states that allow smaller cages. Most of the money to fight the initiative has come from California ranchers, though ranchers in other states also have contributed relatively modest amounts.

San Diego County produces 800 million eggs per year, about 10 percent of California's annual total. Most local farmers are in or near Escondido, Valley Center or Ramona.