MedicalConspiracies- Iowa Bill Tries To Make Animal Cruelty Invisible (TAKE ACTION)

 

http://www.globalanimal.org/2011/04/09/iowa-bill-tries-to-silence-activists-take-action/36429/

Iowa Bill Tries To Make Animal Cruelty Invisible (TAKE ACTION)
"If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian." - Sir
Paul McCartney

IOWA - Agribusiness has crafted a bill to silence animal welfare activists
from exposing the truth about the suffering animals endure in
slaughterhouses, factory farms, and other places where animals are a
voiceless commodity. Images are powerful facilitators of action, and the
animal welfare movement is no exception as people rally together to fight
against such injustices as puppy mills, barbaric testing on animals, and
slaughterhouse cruelty. If passed, Senate File 431, nicknamed "The
Whistleblower Bill," will punish the recording and distribution of animal
cruelty footage with fines of up to $7,500 and up to five years in prison.
Basically, it makes reporting a crime a crime.

Many of the most shameful chapters in history were born to silence those who
stood up for those who were defenseless. Too many horrors have taken the
lives of too many because the truth of what's going on was intentionally and
systematically hidden. Global Animal is proud to be part of the growing
community worldwide that believes the way animals are treated is the great
moral struggle of our time. If this agribusiness bill stinks to you,
please sign the petition to urge the Senate to vote NO on SF 431. - Global
Animal

Photo: A frame grab from the 2009 video made by an undercover member of
Mercy for Animals shows a group of chicks corralled at Hy-Line North America's
hatchery in Spencer, Iowa. Credit: Associated Press
Andrew Duffelmeyer, Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa - Angered by repeated releases of secretly filmed videos
claiming to show the mistreatment of farm animals, Iowa's agriculture
industry is pushing legislation that would make it illegal for animal rights
activists to produce and distribute such images.

Agriculture committees in the Iowa House and Senate have approved a bill
that would prohibit such recordings and punish people who take agriculture
jobs only to gain access to animals to record their treatment. Proposed
penalties include fines of up to $7,500 and up to five years in prison.
Votes by the full House and Senate have not yet been set.

Click here to tell the House and Senate to vote "NO" on Senate File 431
Doug Farquhar, program director for environmental health at the National
Conference of State Legislatures, said Iowa would be the first state to
approve such restrictions but Florida is considering similar legislation.
The Iowa measure was introduced after a number of groups released videos
showing cows being shocked, pigs beaten and chicks ground up alive.

"It's very transparent what agribusiness is attempting to do here," said
Bradley Miller, national director of the Humane Farming Assn., a
California-based group dedicated to protecting farm animals from abuse.
"They're trying to intimidate whistleblowers and put a chill on legitimate
anti-cruelty investigations. Clearly the industry feels that it has
something to hide or it wouldn't be going to these extreme and absurd
lengths."

Legislators and farming groups respond that they're only trying to prevent
people from fraudulently seeking jobs in order to shoot videos that may give
an unfair perspective on livestock operations. Rather than videotape and
publicize abuse, supporters of the Iowa measure said, people should report
wrongs they see and work through proper channels to prevent them.

They point out that in cases such as at a hatchery in Spencer, where video
of male chicks being tossed into grinders was secretly made in 2009, no
complaints were filed.

"We believe this can help prosecute those people who, while they claim to
have animals' interests at heart, don't really follow through and report the
animal abuse - if in fact there actually is anything - immediately like they're
required to," said Tom Shipley, a lobbyist with the Iowa Cattlemen's Assn.
"They hang on to that information for publicity purposes."

He also said the bill would prevent businesses from being hurt by people who
were hired under false pretenses. Agriculture is an important industry in
Iowa, where the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it was responsible for
$24.7 billion in direct sales in 2008.

"There are definitely groups out there that have an agenda that don't want
animal agriculture in business and that's not right," said Kevin Vinchattle,
chief executive officer of the Iowa Poultry Assn. "I think that some people
will go a long way to do or say anything to try to make a group of people
look bad."

Paul Shapiro, a senior director at the Humane Society of the United States,
called the Iowa measure "draconian" and said only through awareness created
by publicity can the nation work to protect farm animals. The Humane Society
releases secretly filmed videos several times a year, and its efforts have
led to plant closures and the recall of millions of pounds of meat, Shapiro
said.

"This is a pretty novel concept and it's one that's intended to basically
keep animal cruelty problems secret on factory farms," Shapiro said. "What's
needed is reform of these factory farms that will prevent cruelty to
animals. What's not needed is to make factory farming cruelties more
secretive."

Nathan Runkle, executive director of Chicago-based Mercy for Animals, which
was responsible for the chick video recorded at Hy-Line North America, took
a similar position. Many hatcheries still kill male chicks that way because
they have little value, he said.

"We feel the agribusiness industry should be trying to root out animal
cruelty and expose it," Runkle said. "As a moral society, it is our
obligation to prevent all cruelty to animals and it's difficult to end abuse
when you can't expose it."

The Iowa bill is expected to be approved in the Republican-controlled House,
but it's unclear whether the Democratic-controlled Senate will pass it.

Florida's bill has been introduced and referred to several committees but
has not yet been subject to a vote.

Republican Rep. Annette Sweeney, a rancher from the north-central Iowa town
of Alden who is sponsoring the bill, said she remains hopeful the proposal
will be approved. She believes it will encourage people to report abuses.

"As a livestock producer, I want people to feel if they see something going
on this bill empowers them," Sweeney said.

But Jeff Kerr, general counsel for People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals, said the Iowa legislation is misguided, at best.

"They're trying to criminalize someone being an eyewitness to a crime," Kerr
said. "The people who do the very difficult job of documenting that criminal
conduct should be applauded."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2011/03/iowa-agriculture-committees-approve-bill-that-would-limit-animal-groups-undercover-investigations.html

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Truth-exposing images, like the ones Iowa agribusiness is trying to outlaw,
are powerful agents of change. These are a few illustrations of how pictures
ignite action:
NC Lab Animals Rescued After Abuse Video Released, Loving Homes Needed
Disgraceful Smithfield Factory Pig Farm Reneges On Humane Promises
Historic, Huge Penalty For Farm Chicken Abuse
Shelter Neglect Investigation Uncovers Abuse
Animal Testing Report Finds Unnecessary Suffering
Undercover Footage Reveals Abattoir's Cruelty