Ag-Gag Laws and Factory Farm Investigations Mapped: 2012

Laws proposed in several states for the 2012 legislative session would make it illegal to take photos or videos of farms without permission. These laws are meant to stop undercover investigators from taking video to show the public what really happens on animal farms in America. Animal agribusiness doesn't want anyone to find out that their industry is based on animal misery. As you can see by the videos on this page, animal cruelty is widespread on farms in America. Even in cases where animal torture by farm workers (and farm owners) isn't found, the standard practices that agriculture operations will admit to amount to animal cruelty. Animals on factory farms are subjected to excruciating mutilations without pain relief, like having tails, beaks, toes, testicles, and horns cut or burned off, and intensively confined to the point that they can barely move for their entire lives. Animals are denied everything except the bare minimum necessary to keep them alive until they are slaughtered. We need new laws to protect animals from cruelty, and to bring transparency and accountability to food production, not laws that only serve to hide the activities of big corporations from scrutiny. If you live in any of the highlighted states above, please contact your state representatives and ask them to withdraw their support from these bills. Find your state legislators here.

• New York: Oppose Senate Bill 5172, and take action here
• Missouri: Oppose House Bill 1860
• Minnesota: Oppose Senate Bill 1118 and House File 1369 (Defeated)
• Iowa: Oppose House File 589, and take action here Update 3/3/12: this law has passed and has been signed by Iowa Governor Terry Branstad.
• Nebraska: Oppose LB915 (Defeated)
• Indiana: Oppose Senate Bill 0184 (Defeated)
• Utah: Oppose House Bill 187 Update: this law passed and was signed into law by Governor Gary Herbert