The Truth About Ag-gag Laws and Who they Really Protect with Kathryn Sussman and Camille Labchuk

In the wake of NYK’s february focus on factory farm animal welfare, listen as NYK Executive Director Kathryn Sussman and Animal Justice Executive Director, Camille Labchuk, hash out the crucial significance of agricultural gag legislation (ag-gag laws). Kathryn and Camille discuss why the public needs to be informed about ag-gag laws, and why it is crucial that we all take a proactive role in striking them down. Ag-gag laws do not serve the best interest and welfare of factory farmed animals, and, in fact, they need to be struck down if these animals are to be protected from inhumane treatment and atrocious living conditions. 

At the outset of their discussion, Labchuk provides a brief history of ag-gag laws, and explains how they were created in response to undercover investigations of factory farming operations. The early ag-gag laws, in the nineties, banned recording images or sounds at factory farming operations without the owner’s consent. By 2013, ag-gag bills were introduced to many state legislatures across the United States. Fortunately, many states rejected the bills, and in states like Utah, Iowa, and Kansas, ag-gag laws were challenged and struck down in court on the grounds that they were unconstitutional as they are a violation of free speech.

Kathryn and Camille discuss Canada’s ag-gag Bills, in particular Ontario’s proposed 156. This bill makes it illegal for any person to be on farms and slaughterhouse facilities  without the owner’s consent. It also bans the public from impeding transport trucks carrying farm animals, and it prohibits interacting with farm animals on transport trucks without prior consent. Lubchuk explains that Bill 156 targets animal protection organizations that seek to expose hidden cruelty in farms and slaughterhouses. According to Labchuk, Bill 156 is a piece of crafted legislation which essentially attempts to hide animal abuse from the public, allowing factory farms to prioritize profit-making at the expense of farmed animal welfare. 

“I think it’s important to note that undercover employees and whistleblowers who come forward, are essentially the public’s only eyes and ears on farms and the reason for that is that the government doesn’t regulate on farm conditions, and they don’t oversee or monitor them either. So, there’s no government inspection on farms on a daily basis or any basis.” – Camille Lubchuk

Labchuk points out how 819 million land animals are farmed for food in Canada without any government regulation or oversight for their welfare, from birth to slaughter (2018).  As a result, undercover investigative efforts at farms and slaughterhouses are often the only way that exposes farm animal abuse. She explains that the lack of marketplace transparency of  ag-gag laws do not reflect the public’s will for the treatment of farm animals – people care deeply about animals, including the majority of the meat-eating public.

Listen as Kathryn and Lubchuk examine and expose the weakness and counterintuitive nature of Bill 156, and the arguments put forward by proponents of ag-gag laws.  Learn about the powerful impact of animal vigils on the welfare of farmed animals, and how Bill 156 targets these peaceful acts of compassion and freedom of expression.

Now you know!