Iowa Rejects Video Privacy Protection For Cows 256
Hugh Pickens writes "The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports that an effort to outlaw the undercover recording of animal abuse in livestock operations appears to have stalled in Iowa after previously failing in Minnesota, Florida and New York, with the pushback coming from citizens and activists complaining that the proposals were aimed at protecting an industry that doesn't exhibit enough concern for farm animal welfare. A bill introduced earlier this year to criminalize the actions of activists who make unauthorized hidden videos of animal abuse appeared to be headed for approval in the Iowa Legislature, with proposed penalties including fines of up to $7,500 and up to five years in prison. 'I feel it is wrong to absolutely lie to get a job to try to defame the employer,' says Iowa representative Annette Sweeney, a farmer and Republican legislator who sponsored the bill. But District Attorney James R. Horton, who filed animal cruelty charges against employees and the owner of a large-scale calf-raising farm, says he probably 'wouldn't have a case' if not for covert video provided by an animal protection group, and that 'we wouldn't have anything' in terms of evidence against the suspects in the beating deaths of dairy calves at E6 Cattle Co."
Re:Bad logic again from a representative... (Score:3, Informative)
The trouble is that these "animal protection" outfits (themselves large multinational corporations) aren't filming actual incidents, but rather, are *staging* incidents for the purpose of filming them. So yes, the "protectionists" are actually abusing animals to demonstrate abuse.
In one case they got caught, having failed to edit out their own participation from the film presented as "evidence of abuse" in court.
In the infamous "skinning raccoon dogs alive" videos (I believe made by PETA), workers can be heard talking in Chinese -- some bilingual person translated the audible track and turned out they were saying, "Why are we being told to do it this way? this is wrong!"
In fact I've yet to hear of an "undercover video" that is entirely legit; all those I know of have some staged elements, to demonstrate the desired "abuse".
Re:Some american tell me (Score:3, Informative)
Republicans are psychopaths.
That isn't news.