Perez Hilton: What Are Factory Farms Trying to Hide?

UPDATE: We are thrilled to announce that bills that would have criminalized the filming of cruelty to animals on factory farms died in Florida and Minnesota, and similar bills in Iowa (H.F. 589) and New York (S. 5172) have also officially died despite aggressive attempts by the meat industry to push them through! This news comes after months of PETA cross-country campaigning against the bills. This is a victory for animals and will protect undercover investigative work in these states that is crucial to exposing cruelty.

Bills that could punish individuals for their efforts to expose animal abuse on factory farms are currently making their way through various state legislatures. Celebrity-gossip blogger extraordinaire Perez Hilton is speaking out against these bills, which are designed to shroud factory farming in secrecy and will deprive animals of their already minimal legal protections.

As a journalist and an animal lover, Perez is letting others know why these bills promote the suffering of animals. Whistleblower reports and undercover investigations of factory farms, such as those done by PETA, have resulted in criminal charges after documenting that farm workers were beating, sexually abusing, stomping, kicking, and throwing animals.

In 2008, prompted by a whistleblower’s report, a PETA undercover investigation of an Iowa factory farm that supplied pigs for Hormel Foods revealed that workers were beating pigs with metal rods, sexually abusing them with canes, and more. Six workers faced a total of 22 charges of livestock neglect and abuse, and all of them admitted guilt, bringing the state’s first convictions for abuse or neglect of factory-farmed pigs.

Denying consumers the transparency and knowledge of what happens on factory farms endangers both animals and the consumer’s right to make informed decisions about what they eat. What are factory farms trying to hide?

Perez is urging all consumers—from vegans to meat-eaters—to spread the word about these proposed bills and take action against this desperate attempt by agriculture industry giants to prevent people from learning the truth about how animals on factory farms suffer and die. Share Perez’s video and this vital information with everyone you know via Facebook and Twitter.