U.S. bills would end undercover investigations of farm animal abuse

U.S. bills would end undercover investigations of farm animal abuse

www.ctvnews.ca

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- An undercover video that showed California cows struggling to stand as they were prodded to slaughter by forklifts led to the largest meat recall in U.S. history. In Vermont, a video of veal calves skinned alive and tossed like sacks of potatoes ended with the plant's closure and criminal convictions.

Now in a pushback led by the meat and poultry industries, state legislators across the country are introducing laws making it harder for animal welfare advocates to investig

(visit the link for the full news article)

I remember the video of the cows. It was truly disturbing. This is obviously an attempt to hide from public view what is really going on with the food supply. People who try to document animal abuse are now considered to be "terrorists."

They say these attempts by the agriculture industry to stop investigations are a part of a nationwide agenda set by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative think tank backed by business interests.

ALEC has labeled those who interfere with animal operations "terrorists," though a spokesman said he wishes now that the organization had called its legislation the "Freedom to Farm Act" rather than the "Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act."

"At the end of the day it's about personal property rights or the individual right to privacy," said spokesman Bill Meierling. "You wouldn't want me coming into your home with a hidden camera."

You have to laugh at the hypocrisy of this Bill Meierling character. Does he think people are stupid? No, we don't want people coming into our homes with cameras. We also don't want drones flying above us with cameras, and bombs. Why is privacy so important to corporations but trampled on repeatedly when it comes to individuals?

I'll tell you why. It's because the "chattering classes" are to be kept ignorant and under thumb, lest they become too uppity.







www.ctvnews.ca
(visit the link for the full news article)

This kind of treatment of animals is why I buy meat from the local butcher (the meat is all local there) and raise a bit of livestock here on my property.

I have seen some of the videos and must say it was one of most disturbing things I have ever seen. Just because they are being raised for meat, doesn't give people the right to treat them that way. And to limit the ways this abuse can be uncovered? Even more disturbing.

So sad.

S&F

reply to post by daryllyn


I agree. The issue of animal abuse is bad enough. Slaughtering animals is not pleasant under any circumstance so at least it should be done as humanely as possible.

But I think the bigger issue is this: no privacy for an individual in their home, talking on their phone or using their computer. But if you dare violate the privacy of a meat plant as they're abusing animals you are a terrorist and subject to fines or worse.

Oh, that's cute. We the people have absolutely no right to see if our food production is healthy, sick or obscene. 'Course not... Those special lawmakers are to be trusted in knowing all and when they say it's okay, well, we better salute and step lively. It must be okay.

I thought about this for a few minutes..as I'm apt to do when something pisses me off and I got into my problem solving mode. 48 hours... Hmmm.... Okay.. We can work with that. Oh Yes... I see ways to work with that and make them dearly regret the fool that came up with it.

The proposed and final laws (depending on where they're talking about, apparently) say 72-48 hours to surrender investigative material to authorities after creating it, as the article states. Well... it doesn't mention having to be alone, now does it? It doesn't say it need be only one man or woman's work product being turned over......does it?

Lets see.... At Occupy I was around 50 or so people, 24/7. 150 during the day..minimum and we had but a humble little camp compared to some of the major ones. Of those? I'd say about 1/3rd would stand and act on a specific effort (About how many stood for the Monsanto World HQ protest the day I'd gotten there). So.. by the day number.. we're talking around 45 people.

How much product in photos, reports, diagrams, audio, video, background and supportive material can 45 people produce in 48 hours? (BIG GRIN) I'm not sure, myself. I've only seen hard work put out by a couple people at once...trying to bury others in perfectly legitimate and 100% relevant paperwork on something. I'm guessing we can count by the bankers boxes full. I'm even willing to bet..those could number DOZENS.......and all important.

They want to force a "put up, shut up or get clear" law? Cool..... I love putting up. (It's what makes protesting FUN!)

I dont like the mistreatment of the animals either but what all are gonna be in the bills?

What else are they going to hide in there>


Why arent they worried about what MONSANTO is doing to the population? Where are the bills on that?

So sad. The factory farms run the USDA to get past regulations. These videos are all that's left to keep them in check, to let the people know what they are eating and to stop abuse.

Horse slaughter, not to ignore the other animals, is that horse slaughter legal again in the US. Many of the horses, as shown before by video, be slaughtered in misery. Such as the trip to the slaughter factory to their death. Often the captive bolt pistols are not placed correctly on the skull as the factory is used to bovine anatomy, they will lie and flinch in agony until shock sets in.

"At the end of the day it's about personal property rights or the individual right to privacy," said spokesman Bill Meierling. "You wouldn't want me coming into your home with a hidden camera." Read more: www.ctvnews.ca...

Oh right, because corporations are people.

Without even video evidence or inspectors caring who will know what is going on. All the while the USDA is further cracking down on organic farms. But that's okay they can inspect small farms but not large factory farms that took over.

I never understood why they'd need such a law when all they have to do is put no photography signs up. After that it would be tresspassing to take video or photographs. Problem solved. Now just figure a way to fix the problem with unethical goons who run slaughterhouses.

There must be rampant animal mistreatment and abuse going on at these plants. If they have NOTHING to hide then why are they pushing for the criminalization of undercover investigations?

reply to post by ManBehindTheMask

I dont like the mistreatment of the animals either but what all are gonna be in the bills?

What else are they going to hide in there

What's even more disturbing, is that they might not even read the bills before they vote on them.



It's Rand Paul talking about receiving a 600 page bill the morning of the vote that had extra things added to it the night before. Why on earth are they voting on things that they have not even read?

He is trying to get a bill passed saying that they can't vote on bills that haven't been posted online for a specified amount of time prior to voting.

reply to post by TheComte


Ever heard of the A.L.F.? They got other ways to solve the problem of animal cruelty, and don't rely on a failed (no I mean evil) State like the US government for it.

here

Hey look at the a peep grinder. Those people probably have a good idea, Telling the difference between males and females.

reply to post by daryllyn


Bills like this are basically written by the corporations and given to the politician for their endorsement. The same thing happens in Canada. The government had to kill one bill when it came out that the minister responsible didn't have a clue what it contained and he was accusing critics of defending child molesters. You can't make this stuff up.

Also, it came out recently that all the changes to environmental laws by the Conservatives were pushed for by oil and gas industry. The changes include less oversight, less environmental assessments for new projects, less protections for lakes and rivers from pollution. All for the benefit of the corporations.

this is quite an interesting yet touchy subject, not sure how things are done exactly in america, but here in Australia, I'm living on a property in far north queensland now, and had a compaint about my dogs made against me.

to start with evryone who comes to my house I AM AWARE OF! it's litterally impossible to get on my property without me knowing. mysteriously my gardiner didn't show up one week, and 2 days later I had the rspca at my door. when I showed the guy from the rspca my dogs, he seemed puzzled as to why someone would say that, and said he would return in a few weeks to check up, that was 3 days ago now, he was here for 2 minutes and seemed to leave more confidant in my ability to care for them.... the gardiner has not since returned.... everyone i asked said the alagations were a load of crap! sooo... was it the gardiner? or is someone spying on me? either way it doesn't sit well with me.

there was another interesting topic on here (with an out there title, but valid none the less) basically asking the question, "Why can a child go to a park and kill thousands of ants in one hit, yet i can't kill a dog?" so the overall question being, where do we draw the line? If people are treating livestock that way and have been captured on video, then we have to ask ourselves "how often does this happen?" the meat you ate for dinner last night could have been executed in a similar fashion, I think the best way to go is knowing where your meat comes from, either that or you could just become a vegetarian... but thats not entierly healthy.... ohh the dramas, just over something to eat....

Originally posted by daryllyn
reply to post by ManBehindTheMask

 

I dont like the mistreatment of the animals either but what all are gonna be in the bills?

What else are they going to hide in there

What's even more disturbing, is that they might not even read the bills before they vote on them.

It's Rand Paul talking about receiving a 600 page bill the morning of the vote that had extra things added to it the night before. Why on earth are they voting on things that they have not even read?

He is trying to get a bill passed saying that they can't vote on bills that haven't been posted online for a specified amount of time prior to voting.

My question has always been this, ever since I was about 10 years old: Why in the hell don't American citizens have a ''vote'' on whether these laws pass or not?? After all, we are the constituents, right? These traitors just pass laws at will, and they don't ask the American people a damn thing.

reply to post by blazingdefiance

If it helps a bit to explain as I understand the issue from reading on it, this isn't really related at all to complaints like you had there and ..people may hate me to say it..but this shouldn't be about comfy treatment of the animals either. Let PETA fight that battle and they can invent some magic moment machine where the act of killing another creature becomes something other than what it is. Where that is the point of trying to create problems for livestock owners or processors, I think some people have FAR too much time on their hands.

On the other hand, Old McDonald lost his farm and on that farm there came a CAFO. (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations).

That's what has replaced the family hog farm or the heads out on the back 40. CAFO's treat animals as simple inventory units to be processed from birth to packaging. No more compassion, care or concession than that. A single location and operation can have thousands to 10's of thousands of animals, depending on type and packed into the smallest physical space economically feasible in the balance between inventory and illness.

That's the majority of what produces livestock out of large company operations now. That's what people are trying to maintain the ability to investigate without breaking laws in the process, IMO.

reply to post by TheComte



Welcome to the Corporate States of America.

I think this just about sums up the relationship between the government and corporations.



Until they get their hands out of each others pockets, things will not change.

Not for the better anyway.

Originally posted by TheComte

U.S. bills would end undercover investigations of farm animal abuse

www.ctvnews.ca

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- An undercover video that showed California cows struggling to stand as they were prodded to slaughter by forklifts led to the largest meat recall in U.S. history. In Vermont, a video of veal calves skinned alive and tossed like sacks of potatoes ended with the plant's closure and criminal convictions.

Now in a pushback led by the meat and poultry industries, state legislators across the country are introducing laws making it harder for animal welfare advocates to investig

(visit the link for the full news article)

That is actually kind of disturbing. I need to start buying more local meats. I really can't wait till they are able to synthetically make meat via animal stem cell research.

Originally posted by poloblackMy question has always been this, ever since I was about 10 years old: Why in the hell don't American citizens have a ''vote'' on whether these laws pass or not?? After all, we are the constituents, right? These traitors just pass laws at will, and they don't ask the American people a damn thing.

You do have a vote. The one who put the people into office. That's your vote. The American people do not make it count.

I know an animal rights activist who talked about buying a slaughterhouse, putting in glass windows, and keeping it running. He wanted to give tours. Since "meat" was going to continue to be produced, he figured why not buy one and expose it to everybody.

Here's a clip from the satirical "children's show" Wonder Showzen: