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
