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In an effort to prevent the public from seeing the conditions in which farm animals are raised and slaughtered, agribusiness is aggressively pursuing “ag gag” and “farm protection” legislation that make it a crime to document factory farms. In a story published in an agricultural trade publication, a spokesperson for the Animal Ag Alliance claims that these bills “show consumers how well animals are cared for.” She also says that undercover investigators stage abuse for the cameras, bring disease onto the farms and “damage animals and crops.” 

Even though animals on factory farms often live in their own excrement, agribusiness uses “biosecurity” as a rationale to keep out investigators. “Biosecurity” was a scary word even before the recent Ebola outbreaks, so using it to scare the public into supporting “farm protection” legislation is pretty crafty – and, of course, totally duplicitous. Agribusiness knows that the public is horrified by undercover video footage which could impact their sales, so they are going to move mountains to keep the cameras out through legislation. We must therefore continue to support the efforts to kill these bills.

Half of U.S. states have attempted to pass “ag-gag” laws, but only seven have been successful, according to the Associated Press:  “Among them are Idaho, where this year’s law says unauthorized recording is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine, and Utah, whose 2012 law makes it a crime to provide false information to gain access to a farm. Both states now face separate but similarly worded lawsuits that say the measures violate federal statutes offering whistleblower protections and free-speech guarantees.”

Not surprisingly, agribusiness claims to have nothing to hide and states it lobbies for “ag gag” laws merely to “protect their families and businesses,” but we know the truth: they don’t want the public to see what happens to animals on factory farms.  The windowless sheds that are far from public view are a case in point.  Agribusiness also claims that the footage taken by undercover investigators represents “a few bad apples” in the business.  But we know otherwise. Mutilation of farm animals, such as tail docking and debeaking, is literally built into the business, and egregious physical abuse and torture are rampant, as exposed in one undercover investigation after another by groups such as Mercy For Animals, PETA and HSUS.   Please support the work of the organizations fighting against the “ag gag” bills.  The footage and photos taken behind closed doors at factory farms is critical to changing hearts and minds.  It was precisely that type of footage that made me go vegan.   To learn more about “ag gag” bills and to see how you can help, please visit HSUS.

Brian Ahmed, an egg farmer in Australia, is claiming that activists put the lives of his hens at risk when they enter his farms.  “We need tougher laws that actually penalise those who illegally enter farms and jeopardise the health of our livestock.”

Mr. Ahmed fails to explain how people entering his farm jeopardizes the health of his hens, but he must know that invoking “biosecurity” could help him garner support from unsuspecting lawmakers and from the public, which is largely unfamiliar with factory farms. Photos and videos speak a thousand words, which make undercover investigations the best tool available to educate the public about the horrors of factory farming.

In response to ag gag laws which criminalize undercover photo and video from being taken in factory farms, animal rights activist Will Potter launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to buy drones to legally photograph factory farms from above:   “In my new project, I am going to use new investigative journalism tools to help expose what some corporations want to keep hidden.”

Agribusiness is moving mountains to stopping animal cruelty inherent in factory farming from being exposed, but Will Potter is staying one step ahead.  While the drones might not capture cruelty, they will show the destructive impact that factory farms have on the environment.  To learn more about and support his effort, please visit his Kickstarter page, Drone on the Farm: An Aerial Exposé

Undercover investigations by animal rights activists in Australia have triggered the Australian pig industry to lobby for protections similar to “ag gag” laws in the U.S. that criminalize the taking of footage which has led to reform. In an interview on Australian TV, the head of Australia’s pork trade group, Andrew Spencer, answers pointed questions about what the industry has to hide. During the interview, Mr. Spencer acknowledges that the industry is phasing out gestation crates but will not attribute that change to the work of activists.

TV Interview with Head of Australian Pork Trade Association

Factory farms are concentration camps for animals. To protect the bottom line, the animal agriculture industry is taking more aggressive steps to keep the public in the dark about how the animals are treated — confinement, mutilation, deprivation, physical abuse. To learn more about “ag gag” laws in the United States, please visit Farm Sanctuary. And, if you haven’t already, adopt a plant-based diet.