Achieving Effective Animal Protection Under The Threat Of 'Ag-Gag' Laws

Significant improvements to legislation protecting farm animals in the past two decades can be directly attributed to the influence of animal welfare science on regulation and policy in many parts of the world, most notably in the European Union. Outside of the EU, these improvements are now under very serious threat. In ten states in the USA, and three in Australia, new legislation, coined Ag-gag' law, has been enacted prohibiting public dissemination of material depicting on farm animal use. In both countries, media corporations and private citizens are liable to up to three years' imprisonment for publishing photographs or recordings depicting the conditions of animals on farms or at slaughter. Controls on the publication of information documenting animal use have compromised transparency in the food chain, eroded the accountability of those involved in the management of animals and undermined the case for enhanced legislation and policy reform. This paper describes recent challenges in the US states of Idaho and Utah to the constitutionality of Ag-gag' laws and evaluates the impact such laws may have on the transparency of animal use in agricultural facilities in the USA and Australia.