 Farm Sanctuary was part of a coalition of groups that challenged the New Jersey Department of Agriculture's standards governing the raising, keeping, and marketing of domestic livestock.The case went to the New Jersey Supreme Court, which in its July 30, 2008, ruling unanimously said the Department of Agriculture failed, in part, to carry out its mandate in setting humane standards.The Court further rejected agency regulations that certain mutilations of farmed animals such as castration, debeaking, and toe-trimming are "humane" as long as they are carried out by a "knowledgeable individual" "in a way to minimize pain."