After recent undercover investigations cast a negative light on Australia’s wool and pork industries, a Senator is introducing a bill that would criminalize the taking of photos and video of “a legally operating animal enterprise.” But instead of calling it what it is – “ag gag” – the Senator is attempting to disguise the proposed law as one that would “strengthen genuine animal welfare protections.” Of course, eliminating transparency by keeping out the cameras will make conditions worse for the animals, as agribusiness will have no incentive to minimize abuse. The law would also require animal rights activists to turn over their video evidence of animal abuse to the proper authorities within 24 or 48 hours. In other words, if you do manage to get footage of animal abuse, you have to both incriminate yourself for trespassing AND turn over the footage to people who are not going to publicize it, as the activists would.

Photo: Animals Australia

In light of public support for transparency and whistle-blowing, ag-gag proponents are attempting to hide their true intent — keeping the public in the dark — behind not only “animal protections” but also “biosecurity,” as if the mere presence of an activist with a camera is going to spread disease in a shed with thousands of animals living in their own excrement. The cameras don’t pose a risk to anyone but the abusers. Please see how you can support the effort to block ag gag bills.

Whole Foods is selling rabbit meat and whole frozen rabbits in some part of the country, and activists are protesting. One handout reads, “Rabbits are the 3rd most popular furry companion in the U.S. and have unique personalities just like dogs and cats. They enjoy running, jumping, snuggling with other rabbits and form deep bonds with their humans.”

Whole Foods is defending the sale of rabbits, claiming they are treated humanely: “The rabbits will be raised in pens on solid floors with dry bedding to allow them to socialize, hide, climb, forage and play. The rabbits also have to have continuous access to drinking water, feed, gnawing blocks, tunnels and places for seclusion.”

The commercial farming of ANY animal for human consumption is inhumane, and it all has to stop – for the sake of the animals and the environment. In the meantime, why are we be protesting the sale of rabbits at Whole Foods if they do, in fact, have better lives than the broiler chickens being sold at the grocery store down the street? Do we think that companion animals deserve to be spared any more than chickens or cows, or are we simply using the “companion animal” rationale because it might be an effective approach to helping at least a few animals?

In our efforts to ban the slaughter of American horses, activists often use the same “companion animal” rationale. While I don’t think that horses or rabbits deserve to live or die any more than other animals, I will nonetheless be thrilled when the slaughter of horses and sale of rabbit meat are banned. (Please sign change.org petition to Whole Foods). I am grateful to activists who campaign against any form of animal abuse. At the end of the day, we’re probably most effective when we pick the battles that resonate most with ourselves.

In an a op ed about the importance of humanities in education, NY Times writer Nicholas Kristof says that one of the three philosophers who has “shaped the world” is Princeton Professor Peter Singer, who “pioneered the public discussion of our moral obligations to animals” with his 1975 book “Animal Liberation.” Kristof points out that, in his book, Singer argues that “it’s wrong to inflict cruelty on cows, hogs or chickens just so that we can enjoy a tasty lunch.” That is an extraordinarily important message for NY Times readers to see.

Kristof has written extensively about the cruelty of factory farms, but, oddly, he still eats meat. In a beautifully written 2008 op ed in which he describes how thoughtful, intelligent and aware the animals were on his childhood farm, he says “Perhaps it seems like soggy sentimentality as well as hypocrisy to stand up for animal rights, particularly when I enjoy dining on these same animals.”  In today’s op ed, he says, “I’m not a vegetarian, although I’m sometimes tempted.” Mr. Kristof: If you know about the horrors of modern-day animal agriculture and are tempted to go veg, then just do it – for the animals, for your health and for the environment.

Peter Singer (Photo: Joel Travis Sage)

Seven activists stripped and climbed into oversized meat trays to jolt the public into considering the plight of farm animals. The Association Against Animal Factories, which organized the event in Vienna, said, “According to the Austrian law, animals are classed as things. This means that their value is only measured by how much profit can be squeezed from their carcasses.”

Photo: APA/Neubauer

How many consumers think about the fact that the styrofoam package of “boneless” and “skinless” chicken breasts they buy at the grocery store once had a face and a family? Not many. If pork chops were packaged with the pig’s head, then fewer people would buy them. And that is probably why grocery stores go to great lengths to disconnect the meat they sell from the animal to whom it belongs.  With the help of organizations like Vegan Outreach, we can help people connect the dots without taking off our clothes. That said, getting naked attracts attention, and I’m grateful to the activists who put themselves in a compromising position – personally and legally – to draw attention to the plight of farm animals.

The cows who produce milk for grocery store chain Harris Teeter eat, breathe and sleep in a deep pool of manure, as shown in PETA’s undercover video of their dairy supplier in North Carolina.

When Harris Teeter’s customers see this ghastly footage of the cows who supply their milk, the shit is going to hit the fan too, not only because the conditions on their dairy farm are so unsanitary but also because the cruelty is so egregious. While this footage is shocking on one hand, it is not at all surprising on the other because we have seen undercover videos of factory farm horrors so many times. Learn more about the investigation and find out how you can help.