Gag Lobbying
Last updated
Last updated
Animal agriculture gag lobbying is the act of paying lawyers to pressure politicians to pass laws that prevent journalism of animal rights violations in animal agriculture. Sometimes it is shortened to "ag gag laws". Ontario, Canada, 2023 Bill C-275 "This bill claims to be about protecting biosecurity on farms, but in reality, it is an “ag gag” law (agricultural gag law) [...] threatening undercover whistleblowers with steep fines and even jail time for exposing animal cruelty [...] Bill C-275 makes it an offence to enter farms and slaughterhouses without permission in a manner that could expose animals to disease. This is unnecessary and redundant. It is already illegal to trespass on farms in every single province, and people who enter farms without permission can already be prosecuted under these provincial laws. Animal advocates have never introduced a disease to a farm. [...] In the last Parliament, a nearly identical bill was introduced and was strongly opposed by concerned citizens across the country, the CFIA, and the Liberal government." Alberta, Canada, 2019 Bill 27 "Bill 27 makes it an offense to be on a property if permission was obtained by false pretenses. The new law also increases the maximum fine for trespassing from $2,000 for a first offense to up to $200,000 and jail time. According to Canadian animal law organization Animal Justice, this provision will affect the ability of whistleblowers who record and expose animal cruelty on factory farms because failing to disclose on a job application that a worker is affiliated with an animal-rights organization could be considered a false pretense."