http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/04/24-4

Published on Thursday, April 24, 2014 by Common Dreams

Defeat of Ag-Gag Laws Mark Victories in Fight Against Animal Cruelty
by Matthew Dominguez

Across the country, lobbyists for the meat and dairy industries have been pressuring legislators to pass laws that punish whistleblowers who expose crimes on agricultural facilities. Kentucky, Tennessee and Colorado are the latest states to reject these “ag-gag” bills aimed at keeping the public in the dark about rampant animal abuse and food safety violations on factory farms.

The push in the Bluegrass State is particularly disturbing, given the circumstances surrounding its introduction. Just a month previous to the ag gag bill’s introduction, an undercover investigation conducted by the Humane Society of the United States at a pig factory in Owensboro, Ky. Footage from that investigation showed breeding pigs locked in cages so small the animals couldn’t turn around – a gruesome irony considering the name of the business is Iron Maiden Hog Farm—bringing to mind the medieval torture device.

Our investigator also documented piglets who died from a diarrhea-inducing illness being ground up like smoothies and fed back to breeding pigs — a practice prohibited by state law. Sick and injured sows were frequently left without care.

Instead of passing laws to support much needed improvements for better food safety and animal welfare in Kentucky’s pork industry, a handful of legislators tried to sneak an “ag-gag” provision through that would make it a crime to photograph or film animal abuse or other types of unethical or illegal activities at agricultural facilities without the owner’s consent. In order to avoid public debate, the provision was covertly added less than 24 hours before the bill was scheduled for a committee hearing in the state Senate.

The inhumane treatment at Iron Maiden Hog Farm would have never been exposed had the “ag-gag” provision been law. Numerous other investigations throughout the country have revealed similar abuses. For instance, The HSUS's investigation into the mistreatment of animals at a major supplier to the National School Lunch Program led to the largest meat recall in the nation's history. Had there been an ag-gag restriction, this investigation would have never occurred and children might still be eating potentially tainted meat.

The vast majority of ag-gag bills across the country have been defeated thanks to an outcry from free speech advocates, animal welfare groups, and thousands of people from across the political spectrum. In 2013, 15 of these anti-whistleblower bills were introduced. All were stopped. This year, all but one of these dangerous bills have been defeated.

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