# Ag-gag laws



## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/04/07/us/taping-of-farm-cruelty-is-becoming-the-crime.html?referrer=

These laws make it difficult to document equine neglect cases. If there is a field with starved horses, many people resort to taking video and giving it to the media. In many places enforcement of animal cruelty laws are not a priority, and it is difficult or impossible to get authorities to follow up or prosecute individuals who starve or mistreat their animals. 

I think the pictures speak for themselves.


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## Kay Armstrong (Jun 28, 2015)

Although I only read the lead in to the article...mostly because I don't have the stomach for this kind of treatment....I can't imagine why states would make disclosure a crime. What is this world coming to?


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## Reiningcatsanddogs (Oct 9, 2014)

Someone gets hired to do some work on your property and catches you lunging a difficult/dangerous horse using a whip (there was a C.A. video on this site not that long ago that elicited some calls of abuse) instead of turning you in to the proper authorities for an investigation, they post it up on youtube skillfully narrated and edited with a by-line that makes you sound and appear to be an animal abuser. Keep in mind, some people see the use of bits as abusive.

Your neighbors see it, your friends see it, your employer sees it. That is a trial in the court of public opinion with no opportunity to be found innocent by a jury of your peers. Not everyone has the pocketbook to hire a lawyer suitable to go up against some of the bigger groups to sue for libel/slander. 

Does abuse happen? Absolutely. I own 4 out of 5 horses that are a living testament to that. 

While I would like to see abusers never own another animal and do some hard jail time, I also don't want to see people unfairly ripped apart without an equal opportunity to defend their actions. 

I am not saying this type of legislation is a good means of going about balancing it out, but simply that there must be a way found to protect both parties and I think this is attempt to do so by bringing the trial out of the realm of social media and back into the courts.


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## lostastirrup (Jan 6, 2015)

I think condition of animals is pretty cut and dry so I would not object to that sort of documentation, however I can see where training could be misconstrued due to an uneducated eye and a particularly beastly horse on a 'comin to jesus' day.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

When we had a local SPCA, the inspector would visit the farm and issue an order to comply, all in writing. There would also be a return date, usually a month, to see if the owner had complied. If not, the animals would be seized and the owner taken to court.


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