Citizens must stand & fight an unconstitutional ban on undercover farm footage!

Activists be proud…

It is more than obvious that our actions have got them running scared and this is proof. Legislators in four states are proposing bills (Idaho HB166, Minnesota Senate File 1118 & House File 1369, Iowa H.F. 589, and Florida S.B. 1246) that will ban undercover farm slaughter footage. Why? The simple answer is that our continued efforts are costing the farming industry money. We pray that each of you remembers this every time you feel as though you aren’t making a difference, after we unite to defeat it! The hard work of countless activists worldwide is indeed, paying off.

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With almost ten billion farm animals raised/killed as food items annually and the multiple billions of dollars placed in jeopardy, animal activists have obviously become a major threat to the industry. The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act(AETA) was only the beginning in their plans and now they wish to silence us. One wonders where the ACLU stands on this issue. They fought us “tooth and nail” when we were all working to ban animal crush videos; when the Bush Administration proposed the AETA the only voice of concern they raised for the AETA was to offer recommendations that would strengthen the AETA to help businesses. Just whose freedom does the ACLU protect? We have contacted the ACLU, as of publication of this article, we have yet to hear back.

Countless animals need us to stand together now. There is no time for petty differences between activists or quarrel amongst those who normally do not speak. If you are against the silencing of our rights to expose farm slaughter and factory farming procedure, then together, we must act now. Our time, the animals’ time, is running out.

These bills are obviously being backed by big money funded by the corporate agriculture conglomerates. Legislation such as this, is designed to keep the average United States citizen completely “in the dark” as far as farm slaughter procedure is concerned. This will make our life, as activists, a lot more difficult. Many more of us will find ourselves sitting behind bars, simply for exposing the truth! Iowa’s and Florida’s Houses of Representatives have already passed the bills that will make the filming of farm slaughter without the owner’s permission, a first degree felony! A first degree felony carries a sentence of up to thirty years in a state penitentiary!

In Minnesota: Senate File 1118 and House File 1369 would criminalize blowing the whistle on animal cruelty, food safety problems, or labor abuses inside puppy and kitten mills or factory farms by making it a crime to take video inside such facilities or even for the news media to possess/distribute the images. In fact, language states “any animal facility”. The chief authors of these bills, Representative Rod Hamilton (R, 22B), and Senator Doug Magnus (R, 22), Chairs of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. In the House, the following Representatives have signed on their support: Cornish ; Davids ; Urdahl ; Dettmer ; Anderson, P. ; Drazkowski. In the Senate, the following Senators have signed on to support the bill: Rosen ; Skoe ; Ingebrigtsen ; Sparks.Support the Minnesota Voters for Animal Protection by taking action here.

In Iowa: Iowa residents can contact your Iowa state legislators here, and urge them to oppose this bill, HF 589.

In Florida: Florida residents can contact your state senators and state representatives, and ask them to oppose S.B.1246.

In Idaho: Residents can contact their legislators here to make sure they oppose HB166.

The Iowa representative introducing the legislation claims that the bill is for our, “Bio-security, livestock and our livelihood.” Are you joking? What happens in factory farms only continues because the sheer horror of it all remains hidden from the general public. Give citizens the truth, at the very least and do not allow these corporate clowns to hide what they don’t want you to know. Even meat eaters should be terrified by this. Many of you already know what kind of food safety issues exist because of the incompetence practiced in slaughterhouses. Do you really want to give them the power to hide all eyes from that?

On the surface, these bills are specifically designed towards silencing activists exposing the truth. What lies beneath these bills is an organized effort targeted at undermining the citizens of this nation’s right of free speech and their ability to seek the truth. This legislation will ban your right to know what is happening inside factory farms, including what health hazards are generated for you and your children.

Consider the thousands of farm workers’ lives at risk daily. This will also prevent those working in such factory farms from exposing the truth of the conditions for other employees. Factory farms happens to be wrought with some of the worst instances of human worker abuses.

Not a single federal law protects farmed animals from cruelty during their short horrific lives in factory farms. Iowa specifically excludes these animals from anti-cruelty protection, whereas Florida had been making small concessions to alleviating the horrific cruelty, they have now decided to take a giant step away from that effort.

“Without undercover investigations, there are no meaningful watchdogs protecting animals from egregious cruelty in these facilities,” says Mercy For Animal’s executive director Nathan Runkle. “This bill is a blatant violation of free speech and freedom of the press. It keeps consumers in the dark, threatens public health, and hurts animals by shielding animal abusers from public scrutiny.”

For those that still think that these bills are only targeting animal advocates, we remind you of these powerful words by Pastor Martin Neimoller:

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me…and there was no one left to speak for me.”

It is time for United States citizens to stand up and put a blinding halt to this travesty. The treatment, abuse and torture of these animals is a “spit in the face” as it stands. Criminalizing the exposure of said abuse is completely unconstitutional. When are the citizens of this once great nation going to stand up and take their country back?

The AELLA Team

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I beleive it a sin to allow this ban to go through. we the people of united states should be able to stand up and stop this crazyness and cruelty to all factory farm animals. i pledged to be a voice to these animals, and i will keep that pledge.they are a living thing and as god said thy shall not kill.it goes for animals to.so im here to be that voice and to let u know i will not back down from this fight.i say no to the ban. so lets fight it out for the animals.im here to the end.

Whatever happened to animal anti-cruelty laws? If there is nothing to hide, then it shouldn’t be a problem should it? Factory farming is cruel and inhumane and should be banned. Period.

We have the right to know whats going on in the slaughter houses and with the meat. Its public meat and people have the right to know and see how their meat is dome.

Thiis is an outrage. How would these factory farmers like to be poked, proded and have parts of their bodies ripped off. This should be a felony and people should go to jail for al of this abuse. Animals are living breathing beings, and this cruelty MUST be stopped.

If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear from having camera’s watching you.Every where you go now, there are camera’s.So whats the problem..Guys?!!!!

slagterier må være en føgelskold verden, derfor skal der holdes streng kontrol på dette, og vi alle skal have ret til at vide hvad der foregår,og ingen skal skjule noget her, det skjulte lugtet af mord.

dansk: halla slagtning er så slemt, at jeg fraråder al den region, og jeg vil med mit store hjerte til dyr, at den måde de bliver slagtet på, er så grusom, at jeg føgler at dyr er som ingenting, det er liv, og her skal der ikke skjules noget i skabene, hvordan de udføre en slagtning, de føgelskolde idioter, skulle selv hænge der på krogen, og nu er nok nok, dyr skal have et GODT LIV, og de mennesker der udføre dette på dyr skal have føgelser for det, det samme som en læge der taber interessen for at behandle mennesker, skal stå af. når de ikke kan udføre et godt arbejde. ALLE dyr skal have et godt liv, og alle har ret til at VIDE hvad der foregår bag murene, basta. BØDLERNE skal STOPPES HER OG NUUUUUU

we will never go back to the out of sight out of mind mentality. people have a right to know about any inhumane treatment of animals. shame on anyone who covers this up.

I have rescued 4 cows from slaughter, they are beauitiful gentle sentient beings, the images here break my heart, the cruelty leaves me ashamed to be part of the human race..i now belong to the vegan race, a brred of humans with compassion. This has to stop

Factory Farms have WAY too much control now, on HOW & WHAT should be done on farms, and to farm Animals. America prides itself on freedom, this law would strip Americans of their Freedom of Speech! We need to SPEAK UP NOW!

Stop the violence against our farm animals now. It is not normal and brings a tremendous amount of unnecessary torture and suffering to our animals. What has happened to humanity and the consideration of our animals..They have feelings believe me and they know what is going on. Why kill a living breathing animal that is highly intelligent. does not compute. There needs to be more education all over the world about animals and how they love, feel joy, sadness, fear and the like. That they actually do cry. Films , facilitators all forms of education need to be taken around the world into schools, booklets handed out and shared everywhere. STOP THE VIOLENCE AND TORTURE AGAINST OUR ANIMALS NOW….Solution, get educated

Our farm animals suffer tremendously before they are killed for human consumption. The trauma they endure prior to their deaths is horrific. We must bringing all of this unnecessary killing to a halt. People seem to enjoy taking these animal through a suffering. The solution is to stop the killing of our farm animals. To have more investigations going on all over the world with video cameras, investigators, petitions, the legal system being contacted. Whatever it takes to stop the violence and killing of our farm animals

I am more than outraged at the brutality these poor farm animals go through, before they are butchered to death. Why can’t there be a humane way, if this is what must happen.

IF THIS BILL PASSES TO LAW, IT WILL ESSENTIALLY LEGALIZE ANIMAL FIGHTING VENTURES ON FARMS! YOU CAN BE THROWN IN PRISON FOR GATHERING EVIDENCE!

We must unite to stop the violence against our animals..The violence is going against the grain of nature…Please consider the damage that is being done when torture and murder takes places with any living creature…..We are the voices…STOP THE VIOLENCE…Thank you , Karen Hamza

this is no different than china,stop this cruelty i will not allow this bill to pass if it does Ive lost faith in our system

this is a god damn joke…I am pretty sure there is this amendment in the constitution, oh yeah it’s the first one…taking away a persons god given freedoms and rights is how revolutions begin as well as breed home grown terrorism…as I def do not agree with it but as many should know the Oklahoma City bombing was a retalation for WACO against the government…now that man was a nut job a when the government takes the rights of it’s citizens and you put them in a corner they WILL push back. How the hell can exposing the truth put you in prison for 30 years but a person who kills, tortures and neglects an animal gets 1-3 years in prison at the WORST. I am ashamed to be part of this nation at times, if our four fathers saw this they would be outraged…too many Americans just sit back and do nothing but will complain about how things are going…stop bitching and do soemthing about it, call your representatives and local officials…”all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing”

I belive there already is UNDERCOVER footage from farms in FLORIDA & IOWA IN EXISTENCE STRATEGY : USE WHAT YOU HAVE AS A CAMPAIGN TO SHOW THE PUBLIC THAT WHAT THEY ARE SEEING THIS IS WHAT IS BEING COVERED UP THEN THE ONUS IS ON THEM TO “PROVE” THAT IT IS NOT! NEITHER STATE CAN PROSECUTE ” AFTER THE FACT” CAN THEY ?THIS WILL EFFECT THEIR BUSINESS AND TOURISM. IF ALL IS WELL IN SLAUGHTER HOUSES WHY DO THEY NEED THESE TWO BILLS? USE THESE TWO BILLS AGAINST BOTH STATES
Canadians For Animal Welfare Reform Victoria Bc

Get this info to the tourists boards This will effect tourist’s views on visting both states HIT FLORIDA AND IOWA IN THE POCKET BOOK WHERE IT WILL HURT! This is obscene and incomprehensible ASK THIS QUESTION If the Factory Farm INSPECTORS DID THEIR JOB & LAWS WERE CHANGED TO PROTECT THE ANIMALS KIILED FOR FOOD WE WOULDNOT NEED TO GO ” UNDERCOVER” TO FILM THESE HORRORS WOULD WE ? This is the biggest cover up STENCH CFAWR has ever smelled
Canadians For Animal Welfare Reform Victoria BC

We must stand up against this! These animals need our support. People need to know just what cruelty happens so they can eat meat. It disgusts me!

People have a right to see what is happening to these poor defenseless animals!!!! Go vegan!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a crime for what you do to these animals! They need our help! Alot more people are turning vegan each day! This shit will end someday us ARA will continue to fight for the voiceless!!