Iowa, Videotaping Abuse is Not a Crime
Iowa just passed legislation making it the first to criminalize certain attempts to document animal abuse. Both parties backed the law with Democrat Joe Seng saying it's to discourage animal activists, but does not stop legitimate employees from reporting abuse.
But it's foolish for Iowa to assume those trying to keep their jobs would be as free to document abuse as others.
Perhaps the Iowa legislature has similar disdain for heroes who risked their lives to expose holocaust atrocities. Without such film footage few would have believed what was happening.
The same is true for innocent animals in America today. Without films like Earthlings and others exposing abuse, some might go on thinking these animals spend a peaceful pastoral life, before being sacrificed to feed them.
This legislation should be seen by animal rights activists as cause to increase their scrutiny of Iowa.
Tell Iowa that videotaping abuse is not a crime.
We, the undersigned, wish to inform your lawmakers of our hope that your new legislation promoting animal cruelty will have the opposite effect of what you intend.
We hope that it will push those riding the fence on consuming animal products over to a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.
We also hope that it will result in even stricter scrutiny because of your apparent desire to hide your practices behind this cowardly law.
We sign this as notice to you and to any state considering following suit, that we will not support products from states that pass such laws that attempt to restrict activists from exposing animal cruelty.
We request that your lawmakers do everything possible to prevent farm animal cruelty rather than attempts to expose it. Rescind your law that would make it a crime to videotape animal abuse.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
