Victory! “AG GAG” Bills Die In Minnesota, Florida

Victory in Minnesota!

In April, I wrote here about the egregious new bill in Minnesota, which would mean that anyone caught going undercover to film or record animal abuses at a factory farm could be sentenced to five years in jail.

Almost 5,000 of you signed our petition to protest this bill that would criminalize photographing on farms, and now The Humane Society is reporting that this bill, along with a similar one in Florida, is dead. In fact it simply expired as the legislative session ended, and lawmakers didn’t even give it a hearing.

From The Humane Society of the United States:

These bills are attracting well-deserved notoriety as media outlets across the country expose animal agribusiness for attempting to silence whistle-blowers and continue abusing animals with impunity. For example, the “New York Times” recently editorialized against the bills, and the paper’s columnist Mark Bittman published a scathing commentary against them. CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360″ and a number of other national and local outlets in Florida, Iowa, and Minnesota have also covered the issue.

Thanks to all our wonderful Care2 members who helped make this happen!

Photo Credit: CALM Action via Creative Commons

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
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Past Member .

7:58AM PST on Dec 22, 2011

A Grace :even with a telephoto lens you can not see inside the barn if the gates are closed!

send a green star

Grace A.

3:32AM PDT on Jun 9, 2011

We need a free press whether we deserve one or not. Journalists and journalistic photographers should not trespass on private property, but pictures taken by telephoto lens from a public highway should be fair game.

KrassiAWAY B.

7:01AM PDT on Jun 8, 2011

Bravo!! Thank you Judy for the fantastic news!!

Danica R.

10:11AM PDT on Jun 7, 2011

great!

James R.

8:15AM PDT on Jun 7, 2011

YES!! VERY GOOD NEWS!

Now go find the politicians who supported the bills and investigate them for collusion.

Suzanne H.

6:32AM PDT on Jun 7, 2011

Good news!

Masha S.

5:53AM PDT on Jun 7, 2011

thanks, good news

Dianne K.

5:19AM PDT on Jun 7, 2011

What is wrong with the State of Florida???Why can't they all pull together and attempt to pass the AG-GAG bill through??It makes no sense.Farm animals need all the protection they can get.

Trudi G.

3:49AM PDT on Jun 7, 2011

what kind of person votes 'no'? Wold he/she like to spend a tortured life in a box smaller than he/she is, made to contort him/herself in order to be in it at all? walk a mile in short shackles, mate- THEN vote 'no'.

dawn w.

6:37PM PDT on Jun 6, 2011

Christopher Fowler,Marianne C,I'm sickened by both of you.You both need to check your facts because you are seriously misinformed.Really,reading your comments made my stomach hurt.