Aug 04, 2021, 19:03 pm
Undercover investigations by animal advocates are a critical tool in exposing the cruel realities of factory farming. However, instead of passing laws to ensure farm animals are protected from abuse and neglect on factory farms, industrial agriculture continues to introduce anti-whistleblower legislation (often referred to as “ag-gag” bills) to prevent the investigation and exposure of cruel conditions endured by animals at these facilities.
Ten states have passed 12 anti-whistleblower laws:
![[Image: 2.png]](https://i.ibb.co/Cn7rGNX/2.png)
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![[Image: 5.png]](https://i.ibb.co/cJ71DhC/5.png)
There have been attempts in many other states to pass this type of legislation (Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wyoming). But these attempts have failed—likely because the majority of legislators have come to understand how harmful these bills are, not only to farm animals, but also to the environment, workers, surrounding communities, and free speech.
Animal and consumer advocates have challenged some ag-gag laws in court. In 2015, a federal district court found Idaho’s ag-gag law to be unconstitutional. After the state appealed, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision in part, upholding the lower court’s ruling that it is unconstitutional to ban recording at factory farms. Utah’s ag-gag law was found to be unconstitutional in 2017. The Utah Attorney General’s office decided not to appeal the case. In 2018, a federal district court struck down Wyoming’s ag-gag law as facially unconstitutional and enjoined the state from enforcing it. Iowa’s original ag-gag law was challenged as unconstitutional in 2017 and struck down in January 2019. However, three additional ag-gag laws have passed in Iowa in 2019, 2020, and 2021, the first of which is being challenged in court. In June 2019, animal advocates filed suit to challenge Arkansas’ ag-gag law, and the case is ongoing. In 2020, two challenges were successful. A federal district court in Kansas struck down the state’s ag-gag law, the oldest in the country, and a federal district court in North Carolina partially overruled the state’s ag-gag law.
https://awionline.org/content/anti-whist...egislation
Ten states have passed 12 anti-whistleblower laws:
There have been attempts in many other states to pass this type of legislation (Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wyoming). But these attempts have failed—likely because the majority of legislators have come to understand how harmful these bills are, not only to farm animals, but also to the environment, workers, surrounding communities, and free speech.
Animal and consumer advocates have challenged some ag-gag laws in court. In 2015, a federal district court found Idaho’s ag-gag law to be unconstitutional. After the state appealed, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision in part, upholding the lower court’s ruling that it is unconstitutional to ban recording at factory farms. Utah’s ag-gag law was found to be unconstitutional in 2017. The Utah Attorney General’s office decided not to appeal the case. In 2018, a federal district court struck down Wyoming’s ag-gag law as facially unconstitutional and enjoined the state from enforcing it. Iowa’s original ag-gag law was challenged as unconstitutional in 2017 and struck down in January 2019. However, three additional ag-gag laws have passed in Iowa in 2019, 2020, and 2021, the first of which is being challenged in court. In June 2019, animal advocates filed suit to challenge Arkansas’ ag-gag law, and the case is ongoing. In 2020, two challenges were successful. A federal district court in Kansas struck down the state’s ag-gag law, the oldest in the country, and a federal district court in North Carolina partially overruled the state’s ag-gag law.
https://awionline.org/content/anti-whist...egislation