'Ag-gag' bills to protect animal agriculture, meatpackers and others gain momentum in states

Animal-rights activists trying to expose animal cruelty through undercover video are more likely to face the threat of criminal penalties. Richard Oppel reports for The New York Times that several state legislatures have "proposed or enacted bills that would make it illegal to covertly videotape livestock farms, or apply for a job at one without disclosing ties to animal rights groups," and most of the bills would apply to livestock handling and processing facilities. (Humane Society of the United States video: beating a horse)

"Critics call them 'Ag-Gag' bills," Oppel writes. Iowa, Utah and Missouri passed bills last year making it nearly impossible to produce undercover videos. Similar bills died in New Mexico, New Hampshire and Wyoming.

Indiana and Tennessee are expected to vote on similar measures in the next few weeks, and a bill in Texas would place violators on a terrorist registry, Oppel writes. "In Indiana, a new bill would require job applicants to disclose material information or face criminal penalties, a provision that opponents say would prevent undercover operatives from obtaining employment. And employees who do something beyond the scope of their jobs could be charged with criminal trespass." (Read more)

Most such issues deal with animals destined for slaughter, but the Humane Society has also used undercover video against some owners of Tennessee walking horses. We reported in July about the controversy over soring, which Duane Gang of The Tennessean accurately described as "the practice of using chemicals and other methods, including putting foreign objects in the horses’ hooves, to produce a higher gait."