NC Gov. Vetoes Ag-Gag, Update: Legislature Overrides Veto

June 3, 2015 Update: Despite the Governor’s veto of this ag-gag bill, the House & Senate in North Carolina just voted to override that veto. This dangerous bill will now become law, going into effect on Jan. 1, 2016. Stay tuned for more details.

North Carolina’s 2015 ag-gag bill (HB405) has officially been defeated!  By vetoing this dangerous bill that aimed to shut down undercover investigations, Governor Pat McCrory did the right thing, demonstrating that he heard the concerns of his constituents who overwhelmingly oppose ag-gag.

In the midst of this ag-gag battle, COK released a new investigation filmed inside a North Carolina chicken slaughter plant—via ABC News—showing heart-breaking abuse of these baby birds. The exposé—COK’s second in North Carolina in the last two years—helped frame this debate and made it clear just how much the meat industry has to hide.

If the Governor had signed this ag-gag bill into law, ours would have been the last whistleblowing exposé in North Carolina.

Thank you for lending your voice! Animal advocates throughout North Carolina and nationwide rallied in support of farmed animals – with phone calls, emails, social media posts, and more than 130,000 signatures calling for a veto after this anti-whistleblower bill passed the state legislature, making its way to Governor’s desk just days after COK aired a powerful slaughterhouse abuse video.

This isn’t the first time we exposed abuses in the meat, egg, and dairy industries, and thanks to your support in defeating ag-gag bills across the nation, it won’t be the last. With you at our side, COK and our brave investigators will keep our cameras rolling.

We know that animal agribusiness will continue its fight to silence us — in North Carolina and nationwide. That’s why we need you to stand with us now more than ever. We will continue to fight back.  We will continue uncovering the cruel conditions and unethical practices forced upon farmed animals. And we will continue exposing the truth kept hidden behind closed doors. The animals are counting on all of us.

The voices of billions of farmed animals must be heard — and by working together, they will be heard.