On Monday, Daniel Hauff, MFA’s Director of Investigations, and Vandhana Bala, MFA’s General Counsel, addressed a crowded room at Northwestern University’s School of Law about the “Impact and Dangers of Ag-Gag Laws” – laws intended to shield factory farmers from public scrutiny. Hosted by the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, the presentation exposed the efforts of pro-factory farming legislators in some states to criminalize undercover investigations and the nearly complete lack of legal protection for farmed animals from even the most egregious abuses.
Decried as unconstitutional by free speech advocates and opposed by the majority of voters, these so-called “Ag-Gag” bills aimed at outlawing the production, possession or distribution of video or photographs of farmed animal cruelty have been harshly condemned by media outlets nationwide, including CNN, The New York Times and TIME Magazine.
While none of these bills has been passed yet, it is certain the powerful factory farming lobby is hard at work ensuring they will be reintroduced – making it even more vital that animal advocates continue to distribute undercover videos of factory farms, hatcheries and slaughterhouses and expose consumers to the cruelty inherent in animal agriculture.
Now is the time to speak out! Visit MeatVideo.com and show your friends and family what the meat, dairy and egg industries desperately don’t want them to see.