States move to outlaw taping of animal abuses [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Source: New York Times

States move to outlaw taping of animal abuses
The New York Times
Published Sunday, Apr. 07, 2013

On one covert video, farm workers illegally burn the ankles of Tennessee walking horses with chemicals. Another captures workers in Wyoming punching and kicking pigs and flinging piglets into the air. And at one of the country's largest egg suppliers, a video shows hens caged alongside rotting bird corpses, while workers burn and snap off the beaks of young chicks.

Each video – all shot by undercover animal rights activists – drew a swift response: Federal prosecutors in Tennessee charged the horse trainer and other workers, who have pleaded guilty, with violating the Horse Protection Act. Authorities in Wyoming charged nine farm employees with cruelty to animals. And the egg supplier, which operates in Iowa and other states, lost one of its biggest customers, McDonald's. But a dozen or so state legislatures have had a different reaction: They proposed or enacted bills that would make it illegal to covertly videotape livestock farms, or apply for a job at one without disclosing ties to animal rights groups. They have also drafted measures that would require such videos to be given to the authorities almost immediately, which activists say would thwart any meaningful investigation of large factory farms.

~snip~
Some of the legislation appears inspired by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a business advocacy group that in the past has drafted bills adopted by lawmakers for such things as "stand your ground" gun laws and tighter voter identification rules.

~snip~
Livestock companies say that their businesses have suffered financially from unfair videos that are less about protecting animals than persuading consumers to stop eating meat. Don Lehe, a Republican state representative in Indiana, said videos can cast farmers in a false light and give them little opportunity to correct the record.




Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/04/07/5322267/states-move-to-outlaw-taping-of.html