Through undercover investigations, animal protectionists have revealed extreme cruelty in livestock practices across several years, states, and sectors.
In response, agriculture interests claim that animal protectionists have exploited the cruelty and the animals involved to gain filmed footage with which to raise funds for their organizations and turn the public away from meat eating.
The result of this conflict is a flurry of so-called “ag-gag” bills in state legislatures. These bills, which are initiated by the agriculture groups, are designed to impede the ability of undercover investigators to gather the footage needed to expose animal cruelty as it is taking place.