'Ag gag' law passes in another U.S. state

Friday, June 7, 2013

Tennessee is the latest state to approve a bill making it illegal to record animal cruelty incidents on livestock farms without reporting them to the police right away. The "ag gag" concept is catching on as farm groups and agribusiness try to take the wind out of the sails of activists performing undercover operations.

The current Tennessee law doesn't ban shooting photos and filming on farms entirely, as do laws in Iowa and Utah. The Tennessee law calls for sending film to the cops within 24 hours. An Alabama law gives 120 hours leeway.

"These bills are a reaction to the bad publicity that erupts whenever a new undercover video is released," says the About Animal Rights website, which continues: "These bills are troubling not only to animal protection activists, but also to those concerned with food safety, labour issues, free speech and freedom of the press" because they "apply equally to journalists, activists and employees."

When the Retail Council of Canada recently announced its member stores wouldn't buy pork from farms using gestation stalls in 2022, Mercy for Animals took credit, citing its videotaping inside a Puratone pig barn late last year. BP