Earlier this year, a federal judge struck down Idaho’s controversial ag-gag law, which made it illegal to take pictures or videos to expose animal abuse on factory farms. The judge asserted that the law clearly violated the First Amendment and only served to shield the powerful factory farming industry from public scrutiny.





But rather than refocusing efforts to pass laws actually supported by the people and the Constitution, such as strengthening legal protections for farmed animals, the Idaho attorney general has announced his decision to waste taxpayer money by appealing the court’s ruling in an attempt to reinstate this dangerous ag-gag law.





Idaho’s ag-gag law is a threat because it fosters unchecked animal abuse and other crimes at agricultural facilities. In addition to endangering workers’ rights and consumer health and safety, ag-gag restricts the freedom of journalists, employees, and the public at large to share information about something as fundamental as our food supply.





We need more, not less, transparency in food production. And animals suffering on factory farms deserve to have their stories told.





Undercover investigations by Mercy For Animals and other groups have led to landmark corporate animal welfare policy reforms, new and improved laws to protect farmed animals and the environment, felony convictions of animal abusers, increased consumer protection and food safety initiatives, and the closure of particularly corrupt facilities.





Idaho’s taxpayers have a right to know how their food is produced and how animals at the state’s factory farms are abused. The clear intent of the ag-gag law is to silence critics of the highly influential farming industry and keep Idaho’s immoral and abusive factory farming practices hidden from public view.





Despite Idaho lawmakers’ misguided and unscrupulous actions, we are confident that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will uphold the district court’s ruling that Idaho’s ag-gag law is unconstitutional.





Visit NoAgGag.com to learn more and find out what you can do to help defeat ag-gag laws nationwide.