Victory! Undercover Investigations Ban Fails

Lights, camera, justice for animals! A controversial Florida bill that would have made filming and photographing factory farms without the owner’s permission illegal—and which PETA Vice President Dan Mathews personally visited Florida to speak out against—has died in the House. This is a huge victory for animals, since the bill would have essentially banned the undercover investigations necessary to expose cruelty to animals on factory farms, prosecute the offenders, and lobby for improved animal welfare standards.

Unfortunately, animals are still under attack in Iowa and Minnesota, where legislators are still considering bills that would subject whistleblowers to criminal prosecution. Cloris Leachman has written on PETA’s behalf to legislators in both states explaining that filming is necessary for exposing criminal cruelty to animals.

You can speak out against these thinly veiled attempts by the meat industry to hide the truth, even if you don’t live in Minnesota or Iowa, by e-mailing the governors of both states and urging them to veto the hush bills if they are passed.
Written by Michelle Kretzer