Ag-gag Overturn

Right from the pages of the Idaho Statesman: “A federal judge ruled last week that an Idaho law making it illegal to secretly film animal abuse at agricultural facilities violates the right to free speech.The effect of the statute will be to suppress speech by undercover investigators and whistleblowers concerning topics of great public importance: the safety of the public food supply, the safety of agricultural workers, the treatment and health of farm animals, and the impact of business activities on the environment,” U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill stated in his Aug. 3 ruling.

I’m sure that ruling will thrill 30 year dairy man, Terry Jones who had this to say about ag gag one year ago: “I testified both in the Senate and the House in favor of the ag security bill and I think that is one of the issues that we have is that people think it is a gag law when in reality it is a security and privacy issue. I have a neighbor who is a dyed in the wool animal activist and environmental rights individual and he pounds me to death. I have spent over $60,000 in legal fees trying to protect my operation from harassment that I get from these individuals. What we need is the ability to run our operations without the fear of losing our market. Let’s say a guy goes down the highway and he gets a traffic ticket. Do they take his car away? No. What these people are doing has nothing to do with animal-rights and everything to do with money. They are after the public image that they can get from these in order to line their pockets. They aren’t interested in the health of the animal.”