MattB .
2013-03-17 20:25:23 UTC
Bills Seek End to Farm Animal Abuse Videos
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/bills-seek-end-farm-animal-abuse-videos-18749763
An undercover video that showed California cows struggling to stand as
they were prodded to slaughter by forklifts led to the largest meat
recall in U.S. history. In Vermont, a video of veal calves skinned
alive and tossed like sacks of potatoes ended with the plant's closure
and criminal convictions.
Now in a pushback led by the meat and poultry industries, state
legislators across the country are introducing laws making it harder
for animal welfare advocates to investigate cruelty and food safety
cases.
Some bills make it illegal to take photographs at a farming operation.
Others make it a crime for someone such as an animal welfare advocate
to lie on an application to get a job at a plant.
Bills pending in California, Nebraska and Tennessee require that
anyone collecting evidence of abuse turn it over to law enforcement
within 24 to 48 hours which advocates say does not allow enough time
to document illegal activity under federal humane handling and food
safety laws.
"We believe that folks in the agriculture community and folks from
some of the humane organizations share the same concerns about animal
cruelty," said Mike Zimmerman, chief of staff for Assembly Member Jim
Patterson, R-Fresno, whose bill was unveiled this week. "If there's
abuse taking place, there is no sense in letting it continue so you
can make a video."
Patterson's bill, sponsored by the California Cattlemen's Association,
would make failing to turn over video of abuse to law enforcement
within 48 hours an infraction punishable by a fine.
Critics say the bills are an effort to deny consumers the ability to
know how their food is produced.
"The meat industry's mantra is always that these are isolated cases,
but the purpose of these bills is to prevent any pattern of abuse from
being documented," said Paul Shapiro, vice president of farm animal
protection for the Humane Society of the United States, which
conducted the California and Vermont investigations.
In Indiana, Arkansas and Pennsylvania it would be a crime to make
videos at agricultural operations.
The goal of the proposed California law, industry representatives say,
is to halt any abuses quickly and get video evidence to government
regulators within two days, not to impede undercover investigations by
animal welfare groups.
"The people doing this aren't cops so I wouldn't think it's their job
to build a case. The goal for all of us is to reduce instances of
animal abuse," said David Daley, a Cattlemen vice president and
professor of agricultural science at California State
University-Chico.
Formal opposition to the California bill comes from the ASPCA, the
Teamsters, the HSUS and dozens of others. They say these attempts by
the agriculture industry to stop investigations are a part of a
nationwide agenda set by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a
conservative think tank backed by business interests.
ALEC has labeled those who interfere with animal operations
"terrorists," though a spokesman said he wishes now that the
organization had called its legislation the "Freedom to Farm Act"
rather than the "Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act."
"At the end of the day it's about personal property rights or the
individual right to privacy," said spokesman Bill Meierling. "You
wouldn't want me coming into your home with a hidden camera."
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/bills-seek-end-farm-animal-abuse-videos-18749763
An undercover video that showed California cows struggling to stand as
they were prodded to slaughter by forklifts led to the largest meat
recall in U.S. history. In Vermont, a video of veal calves skinned
alive and tossed like sacks of potatoes ended with the plant's closure
and criminal convictions.
Now in a pushback led by the meat and poultry industries, state
legislators across the country are introducing laws making it harder
for animal welfare advocates to investigate cruelty and food safety
cases.
Some bills make it illegal to take photographs at a farming operation.
Others make it a crime for someone such as an animal welfare advocate
to lie on an application to get a job at a plant.
Bills pending in California, Nebraska and Tennessee require that
anyone collecting evidence of abuse turn it over to law enforcement
within 24 to 48 hours which advocates say does not allow enough time
to document illegal activity under federal humane handling and food
safety laws.
"We believe that folks in the agriculture community and folks from
some of the humane organizations share the same concerns about animal
cruelty," said Mike Zimmerman, chief of staff for Assembly Member Jim
Patterson, R-Fresno, whose bill was unveiled this week. "If there's
abuse taking place, there is no sense in letting it continue so you
can make a video."
Patterson's bill, sponsored by the California Cattlemen's Association,
would make failing to turn over video of abuse to law enforcement
within 48 hours an infraction punishable by a fine.
Critics say the bills are an effort to deny consumers the ability to
know how their food is produced.
"The meat industry's mantra is always that these are isolated cases,
but the purpose of these bills is to prevent any pattern of abuse from
being documented," said Paul Shapiro, vice president of farm animal
protection for the Humane Society of the United States, which
conducted the California and Vermont investigations.
In Indiana, Arkansas and Pennsylvania it would be a crime to make
videos at agricultural operations.
The goal of the proposed California law, industry representatives say,
is to halt any abuses quickly and get video evidence to government
regulators within two days, not to impede undercover investigations by
animal welfare groups.
"The people doing this aren't cops so I wouldn't think it's their job
to build a case. The goal for all of us is to reduce instances of
animal abuse," said David Daley, a Cattlemen vice president and
professor of agricultural science at California State
University-Chico.
Formal opposition to the California bill comes from the ASPCA, the
Teamsters, the HSUS and dozens of others. They say these attempts by
the agriculture industry to stop investigations are a part of a
nationwide agenda set by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a
conservative think tank backed by business interests.
ALEC has labeled those who interfere with animal operations
"terrorists," though a spokesman said he wishes now that the
organization had called its legislation the "Freedom to Farm Act"
rather than the "Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act."
"At the end of the day it's about personal property rights or the
individual right to privacy," said spokesman Bill Meierling. "You
wouldn't want me coming into your home with a hidden camera."