Idaho Legislature Seeks to Silence Animal Rights Whistleblowers

From Ring of Fire:

An Idaho State Senate bill is well on its way to becoming law which would make Idaho the ninth state in the country to implement legislations designed to criminalize whistleblowers from outing Big Ag company indescrepencies, commonly known as “ag-gag bills.”

Last Friday, Idaho SB 1337 passed the Idaho State Senate with a 23-10 vote. SB 1337 will criminalize any entrance on company property not permitted by the company to “make audio or video recordings of the conduct of an agricultural production facility’s operations.” The law dictates a penalty of up $5,000 in fines and one year in jail.

The push for Idaho’s ag-gag legislation picked up speed in 2012 after the animal rights advocacy group Mercy for Animals released footage of an Idaho dairy plant’s operations. The operation involved a man with Mercy for Animals who got a job at the dairy plant to investigate the facility’s treatment of animals.

You can read the full story here at Ring of Fire.