Challenging Kansas’s Ag-Gag Law
Animal Legal Defense Fund et. al. v. Kelly et. al.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit in Kansas challenging the constitutionality of the state’s Ag-Gag law, which makes it a crime to document animal cruelty at factory farms and slaughterhouses.
Next Step
Case Closed
April 25, 2022 Update: Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court of the United States to review the Animal Legal Defense Fund-led coalition victory which struck down the law as unconstitutional is declined. The victory stands! Read the full press release.
On December 5, 2018, The Animal Legal Defense Fund — with the Center for Food Safety, Public Justice, and Kansas-area farmed animal organizations, Shy 38, Inc., and Hope Sanctuary — filed a lawsuit in Kansas challenging the constitutionality of the state’s Ag-Gag law, which makes it a crime to document animal cruelty at factory farms and slaughterhouses.
Who is being sued, why, and under what law? The lawsuit was brought against Kansas’s governor and attorney general, on the grounds that the Ag-Gag law violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Enacted in 1990, the Kansas Ag-Gag law is the oldest such law in the United States, and has deterred undercover investigations at animal facilities, including factory farms, for nearly three decades.
What court is the lawsuit filed in? The United States District Court for the District of Kansas.
No federal laws govern how farmed animals are raised and most state cruelty laws exempt standard agricultural practices.
Why this case is important: Kansas is a major producer of cows, pigs, and other animals raised for human consumption. Virtually all of these animals are raised in inhumane Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO), also known as factory farms, where animals undergo routine mutilations and intensive confinement before they are trucked to slaughter.
Kansas’s Ag-Gag law has prevented whistleblowers from investigating the cruel conditions that millions of animals endure. Recent undercover investigations at animal agriculture facilities outside Kansas have uncovered abusive and illegal treatment of animals, as well as violations of laws intended to protect the safety of workers and the general public.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund led coalitions that successfully struck down significant parts of Ag-Gag laws in Utah and Idaho. We continue to challenge Ag-Gag laws in the states where they are still in effect.
Stop Ag-Gag Laws
Undercover investigations and whistleblowers have exposed some of the worst aspects of factory farming, but Ag-Gag laws punish people who speak out about cruelty in animal agriculture. Voice your opposition.
Recent News
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Court Rules Louisiana Label Censorship Law Unconstitutional After First Amendment Challenge from Tofurky
Meat and dairy alternatives can use common naming conventions in the state without fear of prosecutionMarch 29, 2022 Press Release -
Court Strikes Down Second Iowa Ag-Gag Law
Public interest coalition celebrates another win against unconstitutional statute barring undercover investigations at factory farmsMarch 15, 2022 Press Release -
Washington State Supreme Court Rules Animal Cruelty Can Be a Crime of Domestic Violence
On February 8, 2022, the Washington State Supreme Court issued a decision in the case State v. Charmarke Abdi-Issa, holding that animal cruelty could be designated a crime of domestic violence, and that an animal’s guardian could be considered a victim of the crime.March 9, 2022 News
Related Cases
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Challenging Idaho’s Ag-Gag Law
Animal Legal Defense Fund v. C. L. “Butch” Otter
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Challenging Iowa’s Ag-Gag Law
Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Kimberly K. Reynolds
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Challenging Utah’s Ag-Gag Law
Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Gary Herbert
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See MoreStop Ag-Gag Laws
Undercover investigations and whistleblowers have exposed some of the worst aspects of factory farming, but Ag-Gag laws punish people who speak out about cruelty in animal agriculture. Voice your opposition.