Using Drones To Soar Above 'Ag-Gag' Laws
from the we-have-the-technology dept
Back in March, we wrote about Idaho's new "ag-gag" law that made it illegal to expose animal cruelty on factory farms and slaughterhouses in that state. The post quoted a couple of stories by Will Potter on his "Green is the New Red" Web site. @AbbyMartin tweets that Potter now wants to expose factory farm horrors without breaking those ag-gag laws by using a Kickstarter project to fund aerial photography carried out by drones:
The latest trend is that the agriculture industry is even trying to ban photographs of farms taken from the air. It is unlikely that aerial photography can document animal abuse, but these industries are clearly concerned. So what are factory farms trying to hide? Will a drone allow us to see the scope of pollution caused by these industrial operations? I'm going to find out...
As Potter notes, it's not clear what evidence of animal abuse a drone will be able to gather, but it's both an interesting attempt to circumvent ag-gag laws that seem to have no rationale other than covering up abuses, and another example of drones being used in innovative -- and peaceful -- ways.
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Filed Under: ag gag, drones, farms, journalism, reporting, will potter
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Cliche if not outright wrong most of the time but...
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wisdom of publicizing an upcoming spy mission
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Are drones really the best tech to solve this problem?
The easiest thing to do is get a massive telescopic lens, a parabolic mic, and a good vantage just outside the property.
Or how about accompanying any government employee that goes out to the facility to inspect, and video recording that? It is not against the law to record a government official acting in their official capacity.
And the third method is the simplest: ignore the law. Do the recording anyway but launder the recorder through various middle men. Post the video to servers outside the state/country. If they are abusing animals, then there is a moral duty that stands above the self-serving special interests fueled laws that happen to be temporarily on the books today.
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Re
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ag-gag and the 1st amendment
that seems like a pretty clear first amendment case of freedom of speech. sure, you may get nabbed for trespassing. but if the federal govt can't ban the NY times from printing NSA super secret information, how can a state ban someone from revealing or printing facts, photos, and testimonials?
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Please join June 14 world march against slaughterhouses
There is no suffering that we inflict on animals that we do not inflict on humans.
But the vast difference is that the suffering we inflict on humans is seen as wrong by most decent people worldwide -- and it is also against the law.
Not so for animals. They are not protected by the law and most of us are not only unaware of their agony in slaughterhouses but we are actively sustaining it as consumers.
Most of us believe (1) that meat is obtained humanely, and (2) that it is necessary for our survival and health.
Both of these beliefs are profoundly, tragically and demonstrably wrong.
Reducing and eventually abolishing the gratuitous suffering that humans are inflicting on animals is one of the most urgent moral imperatives of our age.
The worldwide March Against Slaughterhouses on June 14 2014 is intended to open the eyes and hearts of decent people worldwide
-- to the enormity of the agony of innocent, helpless creatures in slaughterhouses
-- to the fact that their suffering is unnecessary, and
-- to the great urgency of adopting laws to protect them
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Animal Rights, Animal Responsibilities?
If you want to give animals rights, shouldn’t they have responsibilities as well? But how would you make those animals live up to those responsibilities?
And without such responsibilities, why should they have any rights?
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Re: Animal Rights, Animal Responsibilities?
Babies can't give up their rights nor do they have responsibilities.
Already your argument falls apart miserably....
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Re: Babies can't give up their rights nor do they have responsibilities.
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