Lawmakers in several states have already passed or shot down "ag-gag" laws, and the issue is on the upcoming agenda in a handful of other states. The main area of concern is undercover videotaping of livestock. Critics say the bills make it more difficult to expose animal abuse. Advocates say the bills protect the rights of livestock owners and meat processors.
One thing the bills have done is spotlight a new breed of investigative citizen journalists who are being credited with bringing to light abuses by farmers and meatpackers. These undercover animal-rights activists gets jobs at factory-style farms or processing plants, secretly videotape incidents of abuse, then releasing video to news organizations, advocacy groups or straight to the Internet.
"Since the Internet first granted activists a direct pipeline to the public, [animal-rights] groups have waged guerrilla war via undercover video," Pete Kotz reports for Westworld, a weekly newspaper in Denver. "Each time they've uploaded footage, Big Ag has struggled to explain away what Americans could see with their own eyes. Today, the guerrillas are winning."
As a result, major corporations like Costco, McDonald's, Kroger, and Safeway have stopped purchasing from businesses exposed of cruelty, Kotz reports. And livestock owners have responded by pushing lawmakers to pass "ag-gag" laws. (Read more)
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam recently vetoed an "ag-gag" bill, and a similar bill was pulled from consideration in California. A Utah woman was arrested earlier this year for filming a slaughterhouse from a public street, but charges were later dropped. For state-by-state coverage of passed, or proposed "ag-gag" bills visit here.
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| An abused pig was photographed at Country View Family Farms in Fannettsburg, Pa. (Photo by Mercy for Animals) |
"Since the Internet first granted activists a direct pipeline to the public, [animal-rights] groups have waged guerrilla war via undercover video," Pete Kotz reports for Westworld, a weekly newspaper in Denver. "Each time they've uploaded footage, Big Ag has struggled to explain away what Americans could see with their own eyes. Today, the guerrillas are winning."
As a result, major corporations like Costco, McDonald's, Kroger, and Safeway have stopped purchasing from businesses exposed of cruelty, Kotz reports. And livestock owners have responded by pushing lawmakers to pass "ag-gag" laws. (Read more)
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam recently vetoed an "ag-gag" bill, and a similar bill was pulled from consideration in California. A Utah woman was arrested earlier this year for filming a slaughterhouse from a public street, but charges were later dropped. For state-by-state coverage of passed, or proposed "ag-gag" bills visit here.
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