Idaho gets ag-gag law; Ind. trespass bill passes

It is now illegal to secretly film animal cruelty at Idaho agricultural businesses. On Friday Republican  Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter (left) signed a bill that imposes up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine for "people caught surreptitiously filming agricultural operation," John Miller reports for The Associated Press. The bill "prohibits making audio or video recordings of such operations without first getting permission, and criminalizes obtaining records from agricultural operations by force or misrepresentation. Lying on an employment application for such a farm is also outlawed."

The bill was a response to undercover videos by the animal rights group Mercy for Animals that showed workers at Bettencourt Dairy, which has more than 60,000 cows in various locations, "beating, stomping, dragging and sexually abusing cows in 2012," Miller writes. "Idaho's $2.5 billion dairy industry complained the group used its videos not to curb abuse, but to unfairly hurt Bettencourt's business. Bettencourt operates dairies at numerous locations that include more than 60,000 cows and is one of the largest dairy companies in the U.S."

Otter said in a statement: "My signature today reflects my confidence in their desire to responsibly act in the best interest of the animals on which that livelihood depends. No animals-rights organization cares more or has more at stake than Idaho farmers and ranchers do in ensuring that their animals are healthy, well-treated and productive." (Read more)

The bill was the latest in a series of what critics call "ag-gag bills," aimed at quashing investigation of animal agriculture. The Indiana House and Senate have sent Republican Gov. Mike Pence a trespassing bill that "does not ban taking pictures or making videos, does not change existing law on reporting animal abuse, and contains no penalties for getting creative on a job application," Dan Flynn reports for Food Safety News. The bill gives "agricultural property the same protection against trespass that’s now afforded to schools, churches and private homes. Trespass and do damages of more than $750 to agricultural property, and the offender will be charged with a felony carrying jail time of up to three years." (Read more)