State Laws Hide Farm Cruelty

Despite multiple charges against perpetrators of animal abuse at farms across the country stemming from covert video, state lawmakers are proposing and enacting bills banning undercover taping and requiring animal rights group ties to be disclosed when applying for jobs. Under one bill, violators who take video or pictures of livestock farms would be put on a “terrorist registry.” In Iowa, Utah, and Missouri, undercover operations have been stomped out by laws passed, and Indiana and Tennessee will be voting on similar measures soon. “It definitely has had a chilling effect on our ability to conduct undercover investigations,” says Vandhana Bala, general counsel for one of the leading groups, Mercy for Animals.