Issue

Ag-Gag Laws

Ag-Gag laws seek to “gag” would-be whistleblowers and undercover activists by punishing them for recording footage of what goes on in animal agriculture.

As the name suggests, Ag-Gag laws seek to “gag” would-be whistleblowers and undercover activists by punishing them for recording footage of what goes on in animal agriculture. They were originally designed to prevent the public from learning about animal cruelty.

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.

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More recently, as is the case in North Carolina and Arkansas, states are passing laws which not only criminalize whistleblowing in agricultural facilities but any private business, including hospitals, elder care facilities, veteran care facilities, and schools.

Why Are Ag-Gag Laws Harmful?

The ability to investigate, document, and publicize corporate agriculture’s abuses is imperative both to the well-being of animals across the nation—and to our own health and safety.

Factory farms want to keep their cruel practices hidden from the public, but the public deserves the truth about the billions of animals suffering on industrial farms and whether laws are being broken, jeopardizing food safety, workers’ rights, and environmental standards.

Undercover investigations have revealed severe animal abuse on factory farms — animals beaten, kicked, maimed and thrown. These investigations have also exposed standard industry practices like the confinement of pregnant and nursing pigs in crates too small for them to turn around, the removal of horns and tails from animals without anesthesia, and sick and downed cows dragged on the ground before they are slaughtered.

The Latest About Ag-Gag Laws

factory farming pigs

Coalition Challenges Constitutionality of Kansas Ag-Gag Law

Today, a coalition of public interest groups 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.
sheep

Connecting with Animal Advocates in Los Angeles  

The Animal Legal Defense Fund had a great weekend at the 2018 Animal Rights National Conference in Los Angeles, California.

Lawsuit Challenging Iowa’s Ag-Gag Law Proceeds, State’s Motion to Dismiss Denied

Today the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Iowa denied Iowa’s motion to dismiss a pending lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state’s Ag-Gag law.

Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Provisions of Idaho’s Ag-Gag Law in Precedent-Setting Victory for Animals, Workers, Free Speech

This victory for free speech comes in a lawsuit filed in 2014 by a coalition of public interest groups and journalists led by the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

See a timeline of key dates in the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s opposition to Ag-Gag laws.

 

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