News
Iowa ‘undercover video’ bill advances
Legislation that would make it a criminal offense to gain employment on farms or in processing facilities under false pretense, and secretly take videos, is moving through the Iowa legislature.
The bill would define shooting undercover video as “animal facility interference”. It would be considered an aggravated misdemeanor on the first conviction and a felony for second and subsequent convictions.
Representative Annette Sweeney of Alden is the bill’s sponsor. “Whenever you’re hired in an egg facility, a hog facility, you go in and you sign a code of conduct,” Sweeney says. “You say if you see anybody abusing animals, you’re going to tell your employer that that person is doing that—and you are bound by that code of conduct.”
Senator Sandy Greiner of Keota says the legislation is a response to actions by groups like HSUS and PETA, which have released video taken from inside livestock facilities.
“I mean, they film it to bring a business down and that individual that’s abusing those animals should be prosecuted as well as the person filming because they’re allowing it to happen without attempting to stop it,” Greiner says.
Iowa’s House Agriculture Committee approved the bill last week, with only one member voting against it. Representative Chuck Isenhart of Dubuque says the bill may be a violation of the First Amendment.
“Dating back to the last century, we have investigative reporters in the context of their job exposing what at that time were very serious issues related to the slaughterhouse industry,” says Isenhart, “and I’m not suggesting any of that kind of stuff is occurring now—but to the extent that this may be perceived, the way it’s written, to chill that First Amendment right of the press, for that reason I’ll be voting against the bill.”
A similar bill is expected to be introduced in the Iowa Senate.
Radio Iowa contributed audio to this report.
Tags: animal rights activists, HSUS, Iowa
My family farms, we row crop and keep a cattle herd of 50-60 head. Id like to take particular exception with Sweeney’s comment: “if you see anybody abusing animals, you’re going to tell your employer that that person is doing that—and you are bound by that code of conduct.”
I am VERY familiar with the people who are the front-line workers in these facilities. They do NOT have many options for employment – they have high school educations or less, and job options in rural Iowa are few. The culture in the facilities is “go along and get along” and the employees are reluctant to do ANYTHING that will jeopardize their employment. Complain to the employer???? I laughed out loud when I read that. The confinements are bent on closing off ANY means of the public finding out how the animals are kept and how their food is being produced. The rank and file employees are NOT going to rock the boat. If industry practices are humane, then the facilities have NOTHING TO FEAR from outside whistleblowers. BUT if industry practices are found to be inhumane, and if abuses are occurring, the publicity affects PROFITS, pure and simple. Money, that’s all that this is about.