FL SB 1184/HB 1021—Prevent Cruelty Investigations
Sponsors: Senator Jim Norman/Rep. Ben Albritton
ASPCA Position: Oppose
Action Needed: None at this time.
UPDATE, January 26, 2012: Thanks to your amazing efforts contacting your state legislators, the portions of the Florida Senate and House bills relating to ag-gag have been removed! Read the ASPCA's press release here. This is great news, and makes it unlikely that ag-gag language will pass during this legislative session. However, as long as the Legislature remains in session, a slight possibility remains that the language may be reintroduced by way of attachment to a new bill. The ASPCA will continue to monitor the situation and work with the Florida Legislature until we are certain that this ag-gag language will not reappear. Clearly, your voice was heard on this issue. Thank you for standing with us in support of animals.
Legislation is pending in Florida to make it illegal to document and expose animal abuse. Florida Senate Bill 1184 and House Bill 1021 would protect animal abusers instead of working to prevent such mistreatment. Please let state legislators know that you object to passage of these and any other “ag-gag” bills.
These dangerous bills would make it a crime to simply take a picture on a farm without the property owner’s written consent. Concerned citizens, employees, neighbors, and anyone else who sees a suffering animal and wants to document it would be criminals and face imprisonment if these bills become law.
Recently, a horse was illegally slaughtered in South Florida. Pictures of the body were taken to document the crime, allowing law enforcement officials to seek the perpetrator. If written permission from the land owner were required prior to taking the pictures, this key evidence could have been lost.
These bills are being pushed by big agricultural interests—undercover investigations are bad for business when they expose horrible treatment of animals. Industry does not want the public to see what is happening on farms today. Rather than stop cruel treatment of animals, these bills will simply ensure that the public never learns about it. We must not let these bills become law.
