A bill has been passed in Ontario that makes the investigation of rampant cruelty on animal farms extremely difficult and criminalizes even attempting to do so by private citizens.
In particular, the new law includes prohibitions against:
- entering an area on a farm or “animal processing facility” where farm animals may be located without the consent of the owner or occupier;
- interfering or interacting with a farm animal on a farm or animal processing facility without the consent of the owner or occupier;
- defacing, altering, damaging or removing certain signs posted on a farm or animal processing facility;
- stopping, hindering, obstructing or otherwise interfering with a motor vehicle transporting farm animals;
- interfering or interacting with a farm animal being transported by a motor vehicle without the prior consent of the driver; and
- obtaining the consent of the owner, occupier, or driver under duress or false pretences.
This means that blocking, even, the movement of a truck taking animals to slaughter is now illegal in Ontario. Tragically, long-time activist Regan Russell was killed in Burlington, Ontario doing a small bit of just that recently – just after the bill was passed. She was doing what she had been doing for years, working with Toronto Pig Save, trying to comfort pigs being transported from farms to their deaths just as they approached the slaughterhouse doors.
While trying to offer some of that comfort, she was struck down by the truck carrying the pigs to their doom.
As Animal Justice notes, Bill 156 “is what is commonly known as ‘ag gag’ legislation that restricts people’s ability to expose animal cruelty on farms.” Ontario’s bill follows the pattern set by several US states (struck down repeatedly there as unconstitutional, but reappearing again and again just the same) and by another bill passed by Alberta last year.
Toronto Star columnist Thomas Walkom points out that the bill “provide[s] stiff fines — up to a maximum of $25,000 — for anyone convicted of trespassing in a farm or slaughterhouse where animals are kept.” It criminalizes the practice of entering a farm or slaughterhouse “under false pretenses.” This means that any whistleblowing investigators and journalists taking jobs in slaughterhouses or farms in order to investigate them can now be convicted of a criminal offense if they do so.
The bill has been called out as obviously unconstitutional by a plethora of legal experts. According to those experts, mostly law professors, major provisions in it may not withstand challenge in the courts. An allied organization, Animal Justice is actively opposing this bill and Alberta’s similar legislation.
The prevalence of “ag gag” legislation demonstrates how important it is for animal farms and slaughterhouses to keep their activities out of the public eye. The more people learn about what goes on, the less they are willing to support it, especially in the face of readily available plant-based alternatives which not only eliminate the needless cruelty but are also beneficial to human health and the environment. This legislation may be seen as a somewhat desperate attempt to protect industries whose practices are incongruous with modern values and information.
We believe that voicing opposition to this bill is very important. We will keep you updated as events unfold.
Photo by Bermix Studio on Unsplash
