We saw in the last election the fate of political candidates who for some reason felt compelled to talk repeatedly—and often ignorantly—about rape. Well, now Republican Tennessee state representative Andy Holt, the sponsor of the state’s ag-gag bill to criminalize whistleblowers at factory farms, is joining that club.
Animal agribusiness interests are working feverishly to pass state-level anti-whistleblower laws aimed at criminalizing undercover investigations. In 2012, such laws passed in Iowa and Utah, and so far this year, “ag-gag” bills have been introduced in nearly a dozen states. Why?
Whether it’s television, print news, radio, film, or music, media has the power to shape—and change—social attitudes as well as our behaviors for the good. To celebrate the important role that news and entertainment media play in raising awareness about animal protections issues, the Humane Society of the United States hosts the annual Genesis Awards.
Imagine the misery of being intensively confined day in and day out inside a tiny, overcrowded space with barely enough room to move. Now imagine being stuck there starving and thirsty without any food or water, and there’s no way you can escape.
Today, Compassion Over Killing, Animal Legal Defense Fund, Farm Sanctuary, and Animal Protection & Rescue League, and several concerned individuals joined forces to file a lawsuit against the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for allowing the sale of a diseased poultry product commonly known as foie
gras.
Last November, we told you about a case being heard in the U.S. Supreme Court about whether or not California could enforce a state-level law to protect slaughter-bound pigs who were too sick or injured to walk. This law requires the humane euthanasia of “nonambulatory” or “downed” pigs, preventing them from being poked, prodded, or otherwise forced through the slaughter line. While federal law prevents the slaughter of “downed” cows, California is the only state to extend these protections to pigs.
Currently in the US, more than 250 million egg-laying hens are suffering inside tiny wire cages so small, they’re denied the ability to engage in some of their most natural behaviors, including walking. With virtually no laws to protect them, these smart and social animals are subjected to some of the worst abuses imaginable and are routinely treated in ways that would result in criminal prosecution if those same abuses were inflicted upon cats or dogs. That’s why we’ve made it our mission to expose the rotten truth of egg production and promote compassionate food choices.
Last week, COK — represented by the Animal Legal Defense Fund — filed a lawsuit against the California-based Cal-Cruz Hatcheries for unlawful business practices relating to undercover COK video footage documenting shockingly cruel conditions forced upon newly-hatched chicks. The complaint aims to stop the ongoing abuse of baby birds at this facility which hatches chicks destined to be slaughtered for their meat.
Last year, you may recall that four states–Florida, Iowa, Minnesota and New York– introduced so-called “ag gag” bills aimed at shutting down the efforts of animal protection organizations to go undercover to investigate factory farms and document the miserable conditions forced upon billions of farmed animals. While these state bills varied in content and scope, they were all supported by animal agribusiness and the mission was clear: keep animal cruelty hidden from public view by criminalizing the filming or photographing of an agricultural facility without the owner’s express consent.