 Dear Liz,
Newly released undercover footage shows an Idaho dairy worker sexually abusing cows. This video further illustrates the need for more transparency and accountability on factory farms, not less.
Yet pro-factory farming legislators in Idaho have bowed to corporate pressure and are quickly working to pass an "ag-gag" bill – S.B. 1337 – that seeks to ban photographing or videotaping on factory farms.
Idaho's ag-gag bill is a shameful attempt by the dairy industry to stifle undercover investigations and sweep evidence of animal cruelty and sexual abuse under the rug. The bill has already passed through the Idaho Senate, and is now pending in the House of Representatives.
Instead of increasing protections for farmed animals and imposing harsher penalties for animal abusers, S.B. 1337 would make it a crime to take photos or video at a factory farm without the owner's permission.
If enacted, this legislation could harm consumers nationwide. As leaders of the third-largest dairy state in the nation, Idaho's lawmakers should be fostering greater transparency in food production, not pushing for legislation that would punish whistleblowers who dare to expose animal cruelty, food safety hazards, environmental pollution, and worker safety violations.
Protect your right to know where your food comes from and how animals are treated on factory farms, before it's too late.
Sincerely,
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Nathan Runkle
Executive Director |
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