3-24 IAN Ag-Gag

According to an AP story, a coalition of animal activists, civil rights groups and media organizations is suing Idaho in federal court over the new law so-called ag-gag bill that makes it illegal to secretly film animal abuse at agricultural facilities. The Los Angeles-based animal rights group Mercy for Animals released the videos, which showed workers at Bettencourt Dairy beating, stomping and otherwise abusing cows in 2012. I called Mercy for Animals media person Ari Solomon: “We are obviously opposed to these ag-gag laws because if it weren’t for undercover investigators going into that dairy and documenting that, those people might still be working there. These laws basically ensure that never would any animal activists uncover any of that animal abuse. It is just about transparency, allowing your practices to be open. A big part of what we do are undercover investigations on factory farms. If a state has an ag-gag law then we cannot do undercover investigations in that state and if there is nothing to hide, what’s the problem? I am confounded by what people could say that would carve out special rights for an industry to protect itself so stringently. For example, if you owned a bakery, and I filmed you baking bread, I don’t think anybody would have a problem with that. So it really does carve out special protections for this one industry. I don’t know if anybody could say anything that would make me understand why this law is necessary.” Someone from the dairy industry has an answer…tomorrow.