“Please, Note there is a video at the end of this post. however it is very graphic”
According to the Idaho Statesman, Idaho has been ordered to pay nearly $250,000 in legal fees for a case, that could have been avoided.
In 2012, Mercy For Animals released findings of an undercover investigation at Bettencourt Dairies in Hansen, Idaho, where workers were exposed stomping, beating, dragging, and otherwise torturing the cows.
In response to the investigation, the Idaho Dairymen’s Association drafted and sponsored anag-gag bill, which was passed by the Idaho legislature and signed by Governor Otter in February 2014. This law created a new crime: “interference with agricultural production.” It essentially criminalized undercover investigations on factory farms.
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.
The coalition of nonprofit groups that challenged the law has now been awarded$249,875.08 in legal fees. Clearly ag-gag laws are not only unconstitutional, but a huge waste of taxpayer resources. Idaho is now appealing the court ruling, which will result in an even greater waste of taxpayer money.
The governor and lawmakers of Idaho should be ashamed. They clearly don’t value their hard working constituents and will accept money from big corporations at the taxpayers’ expense.
We urge Idaho lawmakers to focus their efforts on improving animal welfare and rewarding the brave whistleblowers who uncover criminal activity in the state’s agricultural operations.
This ruling should also be a wake-up call to the meat, dairy, and egg industries that attempt to keep consumers in the dark about where their food comes from will not be tolerated.
VERY GRAPHIC – This is just one of Mercy For Animals Video’s taken in an Ohio Dairy Farm (not the video in question)
Uploaded on 25 May 2010
Hidden camera video secretly shot by an investigator with Mercy For Animals at an Ohio dairy farm reveals shocking, malicious cruelty to calves and cows. The video, recorded between April and May, 2010, shows dairy farm workers beating cows in the face with crowbars, stabbing them with pitchforks, breaking their tails, and punching, throwing, and kicking calves.
“Please sign this petition, We have to keep the public updated on animal welfare issues. But with the AG- Gag Laws trying to be introduced to protect those who are blatantly flaunting the law; it’s hard to know what or where to turn to next. Please sign the petition here or further down.”
“We have to be the voice of the voiceless & ensure laws put in place to protect them; are in use!”
“YOU The PUBLIC have a voice, if you eat meat, don’t you want it to come from healthy farms, where the animals are cared for as they should be.? There are no excuses as you can see in the second video…but farmers cut corners to produce meat cheaply…would you honestly want to eat the meat that came from ill, diseased or filthy animals fed with slop??”
“Every time you open the door to one of these farms, you tell yourself: ‘it will be better than the last. They can’t all be ignoring the law, they can’t all be inflicting such misery.’ But then you see the pigs, and realise the scale of the suffering. It breaks your heart.”
Compassion’s Head of Investigations.
We have created a short video to summarise the findings of our investigation. Please help us to protect the pigs by watching it and sharing it as widely as possible.
The biggest scandal in modern pig farming?
Published on 23 Oct 2013
Much of the EU pig industry is completely ignoring basic welfare laws — leading to the suffering of millions of pigs. Compassion in World Farming has pulled together evidence from across Europe — join us in standing up for pig welfare by signing the petition: http://www.ciwf.org/EUpigvideo
Last year Compassion visited 45 pig farms across the EU. We went south to Italy and Spain; south-east to Cyprus; west to Ireland; and east to Poland and the Czech Republic. On every single farm we found the laws put in place to protect pig welfare were being flouted – the suffering was hard to witness.
And it doesn’t stop there.
We believe aspects of the Pigs Directive are being blatantly ignored all across the EU, inflicting illegal cruelty on millions of intelligent and sensitive animals. There are over 140 million pigs in the EU at any one time. Sometimes the scale of the challenge we are facing seems overwhelming.
But we have good news. The response to our petition has been amazing. It is the fastest growing petition in Compassion’s history; please help us keep up the momentum.
Humane, sustainable dairy farming can and does exist in California! In this film, Philip visits Strauss dairy whose organic dairy herd graze on pasture and are treated as much more than just units of production.
Over a three-year period Philip Lymbery (CEO of Compassion in World Farming) has travelled the world bearing witness to the hidden cost of cheap meat and the devastating impact of factory farming — on people, animals and our planet.
The findings of this journey are brought together for the very first time in Farmageddon (published by Bloomsbury).
“Those who secretly film the atrocious acts of violence are not terrorist; they merely want the PUBLIC to know the truth about the lives of the animals you eat & how they are treated. Imagine how it feels for them? animal lovers, having to watch the abuse happening all around them…to enable the public to see the truth. I think they deserve a bloody medal; for keeping their hands off the MF’ing bxxxxxxd’s committing such horrifying acts !!
YOU the meat-eating public, have the right to know the animals you eat have been treated with respect; before going to slaughter!! AG- GAG laws were introduced to protect those allowing the cruelty to continue to their animals, & protect those who commit the crimes; what happened to freedom of speech??? They don’t want you, the paying pubic to know the heinous acts of cruelty that go on behind their closed doors; because they know they are likely to lose business !!.
NO ANIMAL meant for human consumption should be treated worse than shit on shoes; they are sentient beings more than capable of feeling the pain of every blow, kick, punch etc. They give their lives for you…please don’t let them suffer in silence! AG-GAG Laws were introduced to stop the public knowing the truth…the animals have the right to dignity & the public have the right to know how they are being treated!Please, sign the petition at http://www.walmartcruelty.com/ scroll to the bottom half to sign”
“Watch the videos below. if you can stomach them, is it fair for animals to be treated this way? YOU have the power to help stop this; please use it & stop AG-Gag Laws!!”
Posted: Sunday, February 23, By Randy Stapilus
Backers of the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation anti-videoing legislation — “ag-gag” — have already lost the war, even if the legislation passes. Especially if it passes.
Their best hope is to change strategy.
Senate Bill 1337, which has passed the Senate, bars a person who “without the facility owner’s express consent or pursuant to judicial process or statutory authorization, makes audio or video recordings of the conduct of an agricultural production facility’s operations.” More specifically, it’s intended to ban (though various existing laws already theoretically do) the videotaping of what happens to livestock in concentrated animal feeding operations.
This is significant in Idaho, home to some very large CAFO operations in the Magic Valley and southwest. The new bill would punish violators with up to a year in jail or a $5,000 fine; critics note that’s the same as the state penalty for animal abuse.
Similar legislation has been proposed, most often failing to pass, in more than a dozen states; a Utah law is being challenged in the courts.
The Idaho bill was specifically prompted by a video shot in 2012 at Bettencourt Dairy at Hansen, showing workers beating on livestock. Last week another video shot at an Idaho CAFO, which added animal sexual abuse to the mix, was released. Both have had many, many views, and they’ve gone viral on social media.
We can’t know if the videos alone would have generated massive international attention. We do know the videos, combined with legislation to ban shooting more of them, has sent interest in the subject sky high in news reports nationally and overseas.
The story is irresistible: An attempt to keep the lid on what people have already seen. But memories aren’t so easily erased. Nor is the technology, which keeps moving in the direction of disclosure, as privacy advocates regularly remind us.
Among other responses to the bill are petitions — some inside Idaho, some by national animal advocacy groups. Petitions usually do little by themselves, but they can assist organization efforts, and they keep the subject visible.
Not only are smaller and relatively hard-core groups like Mercy for Animals, which released the Bettencourt videos, involved in this, but also larger and better-funded groups like the Humane Society of the United States. The subject of CAFO livestock has gone mainstream.
If you doubt that, watch the latest series offering from Netflix: The satirical but pointed “Farmed and Dangerous.” The initial plot hook involves an exploding cow. Once issues like this get into cultural discussion, national regulation and legislation may, in time, follow. It’s in the spotlight now.
The Magic Valley has benefited recently from arrival of a number of food processors who came there largely because of the easy supply of dairy products. Don’t be surprised if boycotts of some of them start — and lead to business responses. To see this playing out, Google the Wiese Brothers Farms in Wisconsin and read about the videos and other reports that led a frozen pizza company to cut all ties with them.
Nor is that all. If SB 1337 is signed into law (as seems likely), watch for this: An activist who deliberately violates it, shooting more video, intending to get caught, and insisting on a very public trial that could draw more national and international attention, kicking in the cycle all over again.
The problem for livestock operations is not insoluble. The simplest out is to improve and closely monitor operations, then throw open the doors for public viewing.
Some CAFO advocates have argued that much of what has been shown on the videos has been unusual aberrations, that most livestock is treated better before slaughter than the videos suggest. An open-door policy would be the one practical way to prove it.
Some of what inevitably happens in the best of meat processing businesses is of course difficult for many people to stomach, but the operators could fairly argue that if you want your meat at the supermarket, this is how it has to get there. Since most people do want their steaks and burgers, the argument might settle down, on at least higher ground than it occupies now.
Legislation has its uses. But CAFOs here have among other things a public relations problem, and these kinds of laws seldom are much help with that.
* Randy Stapilus is a former Idaho newspaper reporter and editor, author of The Idaho Political Field Guide, edits the Idaho Weekly Briefing, and blogs at www.ridenbaugh.com. He can be reached at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com.
A new Mercy For Animals undercover investigation reveals shocking cruelty to animals at Walmart pork suppliers. Workers hit, throw, and drop mother pigs and their baby piglets. Learn more and take action at http://www.WalmartCruelty.com
The video below is just a reminder of how animals are treated, without undercover investigations the public wouldn’t have a clue about the atrocities that happened at this farm!
Hidden camera video secretly shot by an investigator with Mercy For Animals at an Ohio dairy farm reveals shocking, malicious cruelty to calves and cows. The video, recorded between April and May, 2010, shows dairy farm workers beating cows in the face with crowbars, stabbing them with pitchforks, breaking their tails, and punching, throwing, and kicking calves.
” This heinous cruelty & horrific torture must be stopped; no animal should be treated this way. They are sentient beings capable of feelings just like humans! Do meat eaters really want to eat meat from animals that have been appallingly abused! The public have a right to know how the animals they intend to eat, are treated!
Those farms hoping to get Ag-Gag laws are doing so; because they don’t want the public to learn the truth, about the horrific violence & abuse used on their animals; once the public learn of this, they will think twice about buying their products. The people have the power to stop this by raising their voices & demanding better conditions for these poor neglected, abused & heinously treated animals; please use your voice to end this!! Please sign the petition below or at http://www.sliceofcruelty.com/
February 13, 2014 – By Matt Rice
Four workers at a dairy farm that was supplying cheese to DiGiorno Pizza are being charged with a total of 11 counts of criminal animal cruelty. Each count is punishable by up to nine months in jail and $10,000 in fines.
The charges stem from shocking animal abuse captured on a hidden-camera videoby Mercy For Animals at a Wisconsin dairy farm late last year. Abelardo Jaimes, Crescencio Pineda, Lucia Martinez, and Misael Monge-Minerowere charged with violating the state’s animal cruelty statute after they were caught on video viciously kicking, beating, whipping, dragging and stabbing cows at Wiese Brothers Farms in Greenleaf, Wisconsin.
MFA praises the Brown County Sheriff’s Department and district attorney’s office for taking swift and decisive action in pursuing justice for these abused and exploited animals.
Mercy For Animals is calling on Nestlé to adopt meaningful animal welfare guidelines, including zero tolerance for kicking, punching and shocking cows; requiring suppliers to prohibit painful and unnecessary mutilations of animals; and requiring suppliers to provide a safe, clean and sanitary environment for cattle. Tens of thousands of consumers have signed a petition at SliceOfCruelty.com, urging Nestlé to implement such policies, since the investigation’s release.
“These criminal charges should be a wake-up call that heartbreaking animal abuse runs rampant at DiGiorno cheese suppliers. Swift action must be taken to end this unspeakable cruelty. Nestlé has the power and responsibility to implement meaningful policies to end some of the worst forms of animal abuse in the dairy industry,” said MFA’s executive director, Nathan Runkle. “No socially responsible corporation should support dairy operations that torture animals.”
Please take action now to stop this type of blatant animal abuse by signing the petition at SliceOfCruelty.com.
After signing the petition, consider making changes in your own lifestyle to help animals by transitioning to a healthy and humane vegan diet. Visit ChooseVeg.com to learn more.
Watch the shocking hidden-camera video that led to the charges here:
Viewer Discretion Advised – WATCH: Cows Kicked, Stabbed and Dragged at DiGiorno Pizza Cheese Supplier (Please note, these are sentient beings, capable of feeling every strike, punch or kick) should animals be treated like this; just because they are going to be slaughtered? THE ANSWER IS NO!!
Published on 10 Dec 2013
Horrific undercover video taken by a Mercy For Animals investigator reveals disgusting animal cruelty at a DiGiorno dairy supplier. Workers kick, beat, and stab cows and drag them by their fragile legs and necks using chains attached to tractors.
“The video captures workers engaged in numerous serious acts of direct physical abuse and overt brutality—they whip, beat, slap, kick, stab and yell profanity at the cows. … There is a culture of serious neglect and mistreatment of animals in this facility, and the animals are suffering. This must stop.”
Dr. Debra Teachout
“There is no question in my mind, as a veterinarian experienced with farmed animals, including cows, that much of what was being done to the cows was inhumane, brutal and almost certainly a violation of the anti-cruelty statutes of many if not all states.”
Dr. Nedim Buyukmihci
“Dragging live cows, and completely suspending them with the cow lift is severe animal abuse. The actions of these people went beyond rough handling and escalated to the level of cruelty. Kicking, beating, and hard whipping of downed cows is abusive.”
Dr. Temple Grandin
“It is abuse to beat, kick or whip an animal that cannot get up. Hitting an animal in the face is particularly painful. The fact that cows in other scenes are beaten or kicked in the head and face demonstrates the workers have either learned or have been trained that this bothers the animals more than hitting them on other areas of their bodies.”
By Dr. James Reynolds
“Workers were observed to hit, kick and whip downer cows on multiple occasions. Cows were hit in their cervical (neck), thoracic, lumbar, and head regions using hands, ropes, and a thin plastic pipe. All of these actions would have unnecessary and unjustifiable pain and suffering.”
“PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION BELOW – THIS HEINOUS ABUSE MUST BE STOPPED NOW & THE AG-GAG LAW ABOLISHED. If these men are capable of treating animals in such a vile manner; what are they like at home? probable domestic abuse & perhaps worse! These evil sub-humans need to be exposed not protected by an AG-GAG Law. Think about it, only those with something to hide would want this law to protect them from the public finding out what really happens to its animals. If you’re a meat-eater, are you happy to eat a cow that has been violated & horrifically abused???”
February 19, 2014 Posted By Vandhana Bala
MFA has released never-before-seen undercover video of cows being sexually abused at Bettencourt Dairies, Idaho’s largest dairy farm.
The footage is part of a new online ad campaign aimed at defeating the state’s controversial “ag-gag” bill, SB 1337.
The graphic hidden-camera video shows a worker fondling a cow’s vagina while making crude sexual references. It also shows this and other Bettencourt workers viciously beating, kicking, and jumping on cows in order to deliberately inflict pain.
MFA is urging concerned citizens to contact Idaho governor Butch Otter and representatives in the state House to demand that they reject the dangerous ag-gag bill. Watch the shocking video here:
Viewer Discretion – Dairy Industry Tries to Cover Up Factory Farm Sex Abuse
Published on 18 Feb 2014
In direct response to an undercover investigation exposing horrific animal abuse and sexual assault at Bettencourt Dairies, Idaho’s largest dairy factory farm, corrupt lawmakers have introduced a bill to silence whistleblowers and keep the dairy industry’s dirty secrets hidden from public view. Watch and share this important video. Then take action at www.MercyForAnimals.org/Idaho
In late 2012, MFA conducted an undercover investigation at Bettencourt Dairies that exposed a culture of horrific animal cruelty, neglect, and sexual abuse. The investigation led to criminal charges against workers at the facility. Jesus Garza, seen molesting a cow in this newly released video, was convicted in January 2013 of criminal cruelty to animals. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail, ordered to pay a $500 fine, and barred from supervising or providing any direct care to livestock.
This year, indirect response to MFA’s investigation, pro-factory farm legislators in Idaho proposed an ag-gag bill designed to shield animal abusers likeJesus Garza from public scrutiny. If passed, SB 1337 would make it a crime to take photos or video at a factory farm without the owner’s permission. Luis Bettencourt, owner of Bettencourt Dairies, has been lobbying to pass this bill.
“This legislation is a desperate attempt to sweep evidence of animal cruelty and sexual abuse under the rug,” said MFA’s executive director, Nathan Runkle.
“Without Mercy For Animals’ investigation, sadistic animal abuse and sexual molestation would have gone on undetected, unaddressed and unpunished. Idaho has some of the weakest animal cruelty laws in the nation.
Lawmakers should be focusing on strengthening these pathetic laws, not silencing whistleblowers in an attempt to protect corrupt corporations.”
We must put a stop to this dangerous legislation. Click hereto sign the petition calling on Idaho governor Butch Otter to veto this dangerous bill.
“This set of low life imbeciles need to receive the same inhumane treatment they dished out! I’m sure I wouldn’t be the only one who would love to whip them across the face, kick & poke them, then hang them upside down by a tractor!”
“Do you think if someone committed this horrific cruelty & abuse to a dog out on the street; they wouldn’t be arrested & charged for animal cruelty?? Of course they would!! I see no reason why it should be any different for workers who abuse farm animals.”
I was disgusted to see undercover video footage of workers kicking, beating, and stabbing cows at a DiGiorno cheese supplier in Wisconsin called Wiese Brothers Farms. The video also shows cows who are too sick or injured to even stand being callously tortured and dragged by their fragile legs and necks with a chain attached to a tractor.
DiGiorno should not tolerate this blatant animal abuse.
DiGiorno has the power and the ethical responsibility to ensure the cows who produce milk for your cheese are protected from needless violence and suffering.
It’s time for DiGiorno to adopt meaningful animal welfare policies for its dairy suppliers, including:
* Zero tolerance for animal abuse
* Requirement that suppliers provide a clean and sanitary environment for cattle
* Proper care and transportation for sick, injured, and downed animals
* Elimination of mutilations without painkillers, including tail docking, a cruel and outdated practice that involves
cutting through the skin, nerves, and bones of cows and is opposed by the American Veterinary Medical Association
Until DiGiorno decides to do the right thing, I will be taking my business elsewhere.
“The video captures workers engaged in numerous serious acts of direct physical abuse and overt brutality—they whip, beat, slap, kick, stab and yell profanity at the cows. … There is a culture of serious neglect and mistreatment of animals in this facility, and the animals are suffering. This must stop.”
Dr. Debra Teachout
“There is no question in my mind, as a veterinarian experienced with farmed animals, including cows, that much of what was being done to the cows was inhumane, brutal and almost certainly a violation of the anti-cruelty statutes of many if not all states.”
Dr. Nedim Buyukmihci
“Dragging live cows, and completely suspending them with the cow lift is severe animal abuse. The actions of these people went beyond rough handling and escalated to the level of cruelty. Kicking, beating, and hard whipping of downed cows is abusive.”
“Rejoice it’s Christmas, go vegetarian; drive past all the cows & other farm livestock in the fields, look them in the eye & say “I don’t eat your family”…It feels GREAT!!!”
Cows are highly intelligent and friendly animals who can form long-lasting, deep bonds of friendship with other cows and even their human caregivers. Cows have extremely complex social groups and tend to choose the herd leaders for their intelligence, experience and good social skills.
Versus:-
Researchers have shown that factory farmed cows kept in groups of more than 200 become stressed and will continually fight for dominance. Having bonds of friendship broken whenever cows are sold to other farms or slaughterhouses also heightens their stress.
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Much like humans, cows mourn the deaths of those they love. They even shed tears over the loss of friends who are separated from them. The bond between a mother cow and her calf is particularly strong and cows are widely known to cry out for their calves if they go missing.
Versus
Like humans and other mammals, cows only produce milk when they are pregnant or nursing, so the dairy industry keeps cows in a constant cycle of pregnancy and lactation. Newborn calves are dragged away from their mothers within a day of birth so that all of their milk can be sold for profit.
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Cows are smart and sophisticated animals who can even understand cause-and-effect relationships, which is a sign of advanced cognitive abilities. Not only do cows swiftly figure out solutions to problems, they find the challenge wonderfully exciting.
Versus
The only thing cows on dairy farms learn is that they are likely to be kicked or beaten on their way to the milking parlor two or three times a day. A study by the dairy industry indicates that nearly 40 percent of cows are lame because of intensive confinement, filth and unnaturally high milk production.
This eye-opening video takes you behind the closed doors of America’s factory farms, hatcheries, and slaughterhouses— revealing the journey that animals make from farm to fridge.
Uploaded on 3 Feb 2011
Mercy For Animals presents Farm to Fridge. Narrated by Oscar-nominee James Cromwell, this powerful film takes viewers on an eye-opening exploration behind the closed doors of the nation’s largest industrial farms, hatcheries, and slaughter plants — revealing the often-unseen journey that animals make from Farm to Fridge.
One of the most effective techniques for educating others about the health and ethical benefits of a plant-based diet is distributing literature in public places with heavy foot-traffic.
A great thing about leafleting is the lack of preparation time required. Also, at the right time and place, just one person can hand out hundreds of brochures in less than an hour.
We recommend passing out 25 Reasons To Try Vegetarian brochures which you can order from the MFA Literature Store.
Another great idea is to take MFA’s powerful new “Ask Me Why I’m Vegetarian” T-Shirt Challenge — designed to spark crucial discussions about the ways animals raised for food are treated and our moral obligation to alleviate needless suffering.
Here’s how it works:
Order a men’s or women’s cut “Ask Me Why I’m Vegetarian” t-shirt
Wear your new “Ask Me Why I’m Vegetarian” t-shirt with pride.
When someone asks about your shirt, smile and give them a 25 Reasons brochure from the packet you’ve been keeping in your purse or backpack.
Have a friendly discussion about the reasons you went vegetarian.
Pat yourself on the back. You’ve just inspired someone to move toward a compassionate diet.
Wash your shirt.
Reorder literature.
Repeat.
That’s it! By starting conversations and planting seeds of compassion, you’ll be helping to spare countless animals unimaginable suffering. Simple. Effective. Vital.
Click here to order an “Ask Me Why I’m Vegetarian” t-shirt for $25. Your t-shirt order will include a free 10-pack of 25 Reasons brochures. Click here to order more 25 Reasonsbrochures.
While individual vegetarians save lives every time they sit down to eat, we can exponentially increase the number of animals we help by encouraging others to try vegetarian living too.
Since young people tend to be very interested in vegetarianism—and open to change—college campuses and concerts are particularly good places to leaflet.
Need some inspiration? Consider the math:
Let’s be really conservative and assume that only 1% of the people who receive a brochure decide to go vegetarian after reading it. If you pass out 200 leaflets in an afternoon, that’s at least two new people who became vegetarian.
200 leaflets x 1% = 2 new vegetarians
Based on annual slaughter statistics, the average vegetarian saves over 50 animals per year (about 27 land animals, and many more aquatic animals).
If we assume that, on average, those who do go vegetarian stay vegetarian for at least one year, that equates to at least 100 animals saved from just a few hours of leafleting.
2 new vegetarians x 50 animals per year = 100 animals saved per year
Don’t underestimate the power of the pen — or keyboard and mouse! Writing letters to the media, businesses, and legislators is a great way to speak up for animals.
The animals are counting on you. Your actions, your voice, and your volunteering makes a difference. Thank you for having the courage and moral strength to act for animals and be the voice of the voiceless. With your help, we will create a more compassionate world for all beings.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund, along with PETA, has filed the nation’s first lawsuit against ag gag legislation, taking Utah to court for infringing on the free speech rights of activists, investigators, and journalists by criminalizing undercover investigations at factory farms.
Utah’s ag gag law aims to prevent animal advocates and law enforcement from collecting evidence of egregious and illegal abuse of animals on factory farms.
Factory farms want to keep their cruel practices hidden from the public, but the public deserves the truth about how the billions of animals suffering on industrial farms are treated and whether or not laws are being broken that jeopardize food safety, workers’ rights, and environmental standards.
Shocking exposés from undercover investigations have revealed severe animal abuse on factory farms, like animals beaten, kicked, maimed, and thrown by workers. Industrial agriculture has also brought us the unsavory likes of ammonia and pink slime in hamburgers, antibiotic-resistant “superbugs,”chickens abandoned by the thousands to starve to death, pregnant and nursing pigs held in gestation crates that never allow them to turn around, and sick and downed cows dragged on the ground to become lunchmeat. Corporate agriculture’s massive profit ratio and proven inclination to hide in a dark world of secrecy makes journalistic and investigative freedom imperative to the well-being of animals across the nation—and to our own health and safety.
Journalistic Integrity
Utah’s ag gag law criminalizes free speech. That is why the Animal Legal Defense Fund is joining with journalists Will Potter and Jesse Fruhwirth; Daniel Hauff, an undercover investigations consultant specializing in factory farms; the political journal CounterPunch; and professor James McWilliams, as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. “There’s a long history of investigative journalism in this country based on exactly the type of research and whistleblowing that these laws criminalize,” Will Potter explains. “Ag gag laws make it impossible to report stories that are vitally important to the public.”
Utah activist Amy Meyer is also a plaintiff in the case. In February, Amy made headlines by videotaping the operations at Dale Smith Meatpacking Company in Draper, Utah from the roadside. Amy was charged under Utah’s ag gag law—making her the first person in the nation to be prosecuted under an ag gag law–although the charges were dropped after public outcry.
Ag gag laws aim to control our behaviour by instilling fear of prosecution. This is legally known as the “chilling effect” because it intimidates people from acting and gathering information—even in legally-protected ways. Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam recently vetoed a proposed ag gag law after the Tennessee Attorney General called the bill “constitutionally suspect.” Erwin Chemerinksy, a professor and dean of the law school at the University of California, Irvine, and a leading scholar of U.S. constitutional law, has weighed in in support of the lawsuit, explaining, “The Utah law is very much directed at restricting speech, and especially particular messages. This is exactly what the First Amendment prohibits.”
Amy Meyer was the first person charged with violating an ag gag law, for simply filming a slaughterhouse from a public road in Draper City, Utah.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund has filed the nation’s first lawsuit against ag gag legislation, taking Utah to court for infringing on the free speech rights of activists, investigators, and journalists by criminalizing undercover investigations at factory farms.
First Ag-Gag Prosecution Almost Comes to Fruition in Utah
Amy Meyer was driving by the Dale Smith Meatpacking Company slaughterhouse in Utah when she decided to pull over and videotape what she saw: piles or horns littered across the property, cows being dragged across the grounds, one cow in particularly who appeared sick or injured being hauled off in a tractor “as though she were nothing more than rubble,” Meyer told the online paper Green is the New Red.
Meyer’s videotaping did not go over well with the slaughterhouse manager, Darrel H. Smith, the town mayor, who told her to stop. She made it clear that she was not on his property, and had every right to record anything she wanted.
At least that’s what she thought.
However, later on Meyer learned that she was going to be prosecuted under Utah’s new law (a law many people refer to as an “ag-gag law”) which is designed to prohibit undercover videos of farms and slaughterhouses.
The charges were eventually dropped, perhaps since Meyer was on the roadside, and not trespassing on private property (although Utah’s law is sketchy on those particulars). However, this brings to light the progress that these ag-gag laws have made over the course of the year.
Ag-Gag Laws aren’t that new. Kansas, Montana, and North Dakota all have had forms of this type of law in place for the last two decades. But in recent years more and more states are considering implementing rules that prohibit undercover videos of animal abuse. Much of this has come as a result of troubling videos made by groups like the Humane Society and Mercy for Animals. These videos were truly undercover, meaning that the videos were taken on the property of the farms (oftentimes by employees-turned-whistleblowers of the farm or slaughterhouse).
Most of the Ag-Gag laws don’t prohibit the ability to film from a roadside (like Meyer did). However, states are finding ways around this. For example, Pennsylvania’s proposed bill criminalizes anyone who “records an image of, or sound from, the agricultural operation,” or who “uploads, downloads, transfers or otherwise sends” footage using the Internet.
Tennessee’s bill passed, and is awaiting the governor’s signature. During the process, however, one state rep (Andy Holt) referred to the Humane Society’s use of undercover footage of animal abuse as no different than how human-traffickers use 17-year-old women. He claims that organizations like the Humane Society “seek to profit from animal abuse” using a “tape and rape” method.
Proponents of ag-gag laws share at least part of Holt’s sentiment. Proponents claim that if any animal abuse does take place at a facility, employees have the ability, and obligation, to report to authorities. Videos, they believe, do nothing but sensationalize the problem, and, in fact, those who videotape these abuses for use in supporting a cause are participating in the abuse. Those who videotape animal abuse ought to be required to submit the evidence to police, immediately, rather than to broadcast it to the world.
Opponents of ag-gag laws claim that employees are not likely to openly report abuses to authorities, because they aren’t quick to report themselves or their co-workers. Furthermore, opponents claim that these videos can be used later on as evidence of abuse, if formal charges are ever brought to light.
However, above all else, opponents of ag-gag laws claim that not being able to broadcast abuse severely limits their ability to inform the public of the truth. When people actually get to see and hear the abuse, they’ll realize the problem is far worse than they imagined. These images and videos might stir people into anger and, eventually action.
Currently Nebraska, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Vermont are considering ag-gag laws similar to that of Utah and Tennessee.
Well-known animal activists, such as Carrie Underwood, aren’t taken this ag-gag progress lightly. On April 18, soon after Tennessee’s bill passed, she tweeted this to her thousands of followers:
“Shame on TN lawmakers for passing the Ag Gag bill. If Gov. Bill Haslam signs this, he needs to expect me at his front door. Who’s with me?”
Tennessee’s proposed “Ag Gag” law suffered a setback Thursday when the state’s attorney general labeled it “constitutionally suspect” and said it could violate freedom of the press and the right against self-incrimination.
The bill, awaiting either Gov. Bill Haslam’s signature or veto, would force anyone who purposefully took pictures or video of livestock abuse to turn those over to law enforcement within 48 hours.
That limits the media, incriminates those who captured the video through trespassing and exposes police to copyright problems should the public ask for copies, Attorney General Robert Cooper wrote.
Haslam has until Wednesday to either sign or veto the bill, his spokesman confirmed, but the governor’s office offered no further comment. If he took no action at all, it would pass into law automatically, with those who broke it facing a $50 fine.
The bill’s author, Rep. Andy Holt, R-Dresden, said he didn’t see a constitutional problem and compared its provisions to forcing medical doctors to report suspected child abuse.
“If people are engaged in criminal activity, it will be abundantly apparent. “No it will not”You don’t have to have two months to provide clarity to law enforcement,” Holt said. “Ask yourself this question: Should an animal have to suffer an abusive situation for two months?” “Those animals will suffer whether being videod or not, if they are already in an abusive situation; often the management don’t know their animals are being abused. To ensure a conviction, evidence has to be collected over a period of time, so people can’t say it was a “one off” act of violence…FFS people…open your eyes. Those who want Ag-Gag laws must want them for a reason!!”
A two-month undercover investigation by the Humane Society led to state and federal animal abuse charges last year against famed Tennessee Walking Horse trainer Jackie McConnell of Collierville. The group released stomach-turning video of McConnell beating a horse and of its legs being chemically burned to encourage the breed’s prized longer, higher gait.
Holt said his bill has nothing to do with that case. Instead, it would prevent video of legitimate animal husbandry being represented as inhumane and used for fund raising, he said.
Humane Society leaders held a news conference earlier Thursday at Gaylord Opryland Convention Center, where the group is holding its Animal Care Expo. They denounced Holt’s bill and called upon the Tennessee attorney general’s office to investigate the walking horse industry.
“We need to know what perversion looks like and not be a part of any activity to either celebrate it, encourage it or somehow honor it,” said Dr. Michael Blackwell, president of the online Humane Society University.
Mike Inman, the Celebration’s CEO, didn’t respond to messages left Thursday but has said that walking horse trainers found McConnell’s actions deplorable. He said the industry is striving for 100 percent compliance with the federal Horse Protection Act.
A Tennessee lawmaker sponsoring a new bill shutting down animal cruelty investigations suggested animal rights activists were engaging in “tape and rape” tactics, and were “intent on using animals the same way human-traffickers use 17 year old women.
” The representative in question, Andy Holt (R-Dresden), owns and operates a facility that raises pigs, cows, and goatsfor slaughter.
Holt’s outburst came in response to an email from Humane Society Public Policy
Andy Holt – suggested animal rights activists were engaging in “tape and rape” tactics
Coordinator Kayci McCloud, in which McCloud asked Holt to reconsider his support for Tennessee’s recently passed “ag-gag” law. Ag-gag lawscontain a variety of provisions(varying from law to law) designed to make it impossible for undercover investigators to document animal cruelty or unsafe farming conditions on farms like Holt’s. “Well he obviously has something to hide!”
The Tennessee law Holt sponsored and pushed through the legislature accomplishes this end by forcing groups to turn over any documentary evidence of illegal activity on farms to the authorities within 48 hours, making it functionally impossible for them to put together a comprehensive case that could lead to arrests.
Holt responded viciously to McCloud’s inquiry, accusing the Humane Society of America — the country’s leading animal welfare organization, whose investigations have repeatedly led to pro-animal prosecutions and legislation — of functionally supporting the sexual abuse of animals:
I am extremely pleased that we were able to pass HB 1191 [the ag-gag law] today to help protect livestock in Tennessee from suffering months of needless investigation that propagandist groups of radical animal activists, like your fraudulent and reprehensibly disgusting organization of maligned animal abuse profiteering corporatists, who are intent on using animals the same way human-traffickers use 17 year old women. You work for a pathetic excuse for an organization and a pathetic group of sensationalists who seek to profit from animal abuse. I am glad, as an aside, that we have limited your preferred fund-raising methods here in the state of Tennessee; a method that I refer to as “tape and rape.” Best wishes for the failure of your organization and it’s [sic] true intent.
Holt’s outburst is unusual for reasons beyond the vicious smears: while ag-gag supporters typically sell the laws as a means to help animal rights investigations, Holt admits that the law’s true purpose is to limit the ability of pro-animal groups to expose cruelty. It’s also unclear how “suffering months of needless investigation,” which mostly means being videotaped, is worse for farm animals than being crammed into crates so tight that they are forced to stand in their own feces and acquire bleeding sores from attempting to move even slightly — a common fate for pigs in American factory farms.
In addition to his work in the state legislature, Holt owns and operates Holt Family Farms with his wife. Because Holt’s operation raises animals for slaughter (though they are not killed on premises), it’s exactly the sort of farm that might be subject to the type of investigation Holt is attempting to outlaw.
Tennessee, which is ahead of the national curvewith respect passing ag-gag laws, is also in the midst of a controversy about theendemic abuseof horses as part of theTennessee Walking Horseshow “tradition.”
DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS BLOG - SOME PICTURES & VIDEOS CAN & WILL BE VERY GRAPHIC - SO PLEASE, VIEW THIS BLOG AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.
You can find out more about me & this blog by reading "ABOUT THIS BLOG" on the menu (when i finish it) lol
PLEASE NOTE.....
Not all of my posts will be current news, or even about animal abuse! I do like to share other animal news, uplifting stories or videos; some that are funny or just touch the heart!
If I have anything to say on any post, you will see it in bold blue writing. I try to remain a lady, but it's hard to contain my anger & emotions at the some of the stories I post; I don’t have a heart of stone, tears stain many articles I write!
Lastly, my apologies for any errors; I am learning whilst posting, so if you find anything that doesn't work or a broken link, sorry, I'm only human!!!!
ABOUT THESE POSTS
I would just like to make readers aware, that I search for stories on the internet; regards animal abuse etc. I copy stories etc. from the internet; assuming these stories are correct at time of publishing. Having said that, sometimes the press get it wrong! So I just want to add that at the time of me posting a news story, I presume all the facts seem present & correct.
Please note....all people mentioned in this blog, are presumed innocent, until proven otherwise, in a court of law.
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As 99% of my page is animal related; anyone not in the above group of friends; will only see a limited amount of posts!!
DUE TO ANIMAL HATERS...I WILL ONLY ADD PEOPLE WHO CAN PROVE WHO THEY ARE via Facebook, Wordpress, Twitter etc. & WHO HAVE A GENUINE INTEREST IN ANIMAL WELFARE... i.e. if your Facebook page has absolutely nothing to do with animals, I see no point in joining my page. My Facebook is solely for animal welfare, I am not interested in playing games etc. I don't mean to sound rude but I am not interested in the amount of friends I have, its the quality of those friends that count.
PLEASE DO NOT SEND REQUESTS FOR YOUR FRIENDS TO JOIN. I do not want anyone to be upset by graphic images etc.
My aim is to educate & raise awareness to the horrors animals face, at the hands of humans, every day, around the world!!
We can not hope to achieve better laws, to protect animals, unless we unite as one, to speak up for those who are voiceless!!
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DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS BLOG - SOME PICTURES & VIDEOS CAN & WILL BE VERY GRAPHIC - SO PLEASE, VIEW THIS BLOG AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.
STOP ANIMAL ABUSE 
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