North Carolina Ag-Gag Bill Defeated by Governor’s Veto

On May 19, the North Carolina State Assembly ratified HB405, a bill that would allow companies to sue factory farm employees and undercover investigators for exposing illegal animal cruelty. The bill then sat on Governor Pat McCrory’s desk until last week, when he vetoed it. Like ag-gag bills proposed in other states, HB405 was initiated by the meat industry but rejected by the majority of the public, with a recent poll showing that North Carolinians oppose ag-gag laws by a nearly three-to-one margin. McCrory’s veto comes in the wake of a recent Compassion Over Killing video exposé showing workers at the state’s Mountaire Farms punching shackled chickens as they hung upside-down. Ag-gag laws are currently on the books in Utah, Missouri, Iowa, and Idaho, but have been defeated in 20 other states.