States have repeatedly passed laws that seek to criminalize undercover investigations of abuse and other animal welfare issues on factory farms. Although these “ag-gag” laws have been repeatedly struck down in court on First Amendment grounds, states continue to enact them—tweaking the content each time in hopes of circumventing constitutional clashes.
This year, South Dakota passed Senate Bill 14, which makes it a misdemeanor to “use deception to gain access to or employment at an agricultural facility not open to the public with the intent to cause physical or economic harm or other injury” to the facility. Despite the wording, however, such a statute could readily be used to try to prosecute individuals whose intent is to protect animals from abuse, not cause injury to the facility. The bill also prohibits the use or placement of “a camera or electronic surveillance device that transmits or records images or data” while trespassing on the property. West Virginia, meanwhile, amended its Critical Infrastructure Protection Act to include “licensed livestock stockyard facilities” among the protected structures. This law makes it a misdemeanor for individuals to knowingly and willfully enter such facilities without permission from the property owner.
As it has become increasingly difficult to gain legal access to animal agriculture facilities, animal advocates have turned to drones equipped with recording equipment to document abuses. A drone’s bird’s-eye view can provide a unique perspective on an operation’s massive scale, animal numbers, and extent of environmental degradation. In response, states are now moving to criminalize the use of drones to observe agricultural facilities as well. Iowa extended its previous prohibition on flying remote-piloted aircraft over animal feeding operations and homesteads to include any area within 400 feet of the animals, equipment, or structures—including barns, manure storage, and farmer residences. Legislators in Oklahoma have introduced Senate Bill 491, which similarly aims to prohibit drones from flying within 400 feet of factory farms.
The recent bills are merely the latest salvo in an increasingly determined effort to shield factory farms from public scrutiny regarding issues of animal welfare, worker safety, and environmental impact.