Coalition Files Lawsuit Against North Carolina’s Unconstitutional Ag Gag Law

Designed to shield animal abusers from public scrutiny and supported by some of the most notorious animal-abusing companies in the country, North Carolina’s controversial ag-gag law took effect at the beginning of this year.

Soon after, a coalition of animal protection, food safety, environmental, and civil liberties groups filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the law, which seeks to punish whistleblowers who expose animal abuse and other crimes at factory farms.

Undercover investigations by Mercy For Animals at North Carolina factory farms have documented a culture of cruelty and neglect.

In fact, our investigation into Butterball—the largest turkey producer in the country—resulted in the first-ever felony cruelty conviction related to factory-farmed poultry in U.S. history. And just last month, a Perdue factory farmer was arrested and charged with felony animal cruelty after we caught him stomping chickens to death.

See for yourself what North Carolina farmers are trying so hard to hide:


Mercy For Animals, along with most Americans, rejects North Carolina’s ag-gag law as a shameful attempt to protect animal abusers. This lawsuit is one of many legal challenges likely to be advanced against the unconstitutional law. MFA will diligently work to counter this and other ag-gag laws through a variety of tactics and legal approaches.

To learn more and find out what you can do to help defeat ag-gag legislation across the country, visit NoAgGag.com.