Iowa’s Republican governor, Terry Branstad last week signed a law banning the use of covert tactics to gain access to farms, making Iowa the first US state to enact an acutely controversial “ag gag” law. The governor signed the law in a private ceremony and offered no statement, despite vehement protest, after the bill won state approval on Tuesday.

Drafts for similar laws are currently passing through the legal systems of a number of other states, including Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York and Utah, although a massive public backlash has stalled efforts in some states.

In Iowa, where lying on a job application to gain access to a farm will now become a serious misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in prison and a fine of $1,500, massive protests on Twitter and Facebook and a concerted letter-writing campaign could not stay governor Branstad’s hand.

Animal Welfare groups in the United States have berated the governor for acting in the interests of the industrial farming lobby, claiming the new law will have dire implications for animal welfare in the state.

Throughout the world undercover filming has led to the discovery of a number of abuses of animal welfare, which critics of Iowa’s bill argue has led to a gradual improvement of standards and a greater public awareness of animal welfare issues. Most recently in the UK, abuses of animals were recorded on a Red Tractor certified pig farm in Norfolk by an undercover investigator for an animal rights organisation, sparking an RSPCA investigation.  

Amongst the critics was Suzanne McMillan, of the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She said, “Iowans deserve to know where their food is coming from, they deserve to know how the animals they’re consuming have been treated, they deserve to have the farms held accountable for the conditions in these facilities. [Governor Branstad] is really going against all those concerns and priorities that Iowans hold.”

Senators in Iowa said the bill is designed to strike a balance between prohibiting ‘animal rights activists’ from gaining access to units fraudulently, whilst allowing legitimate employees to report abuse. However, the bill had to be changed before being signed, as its language was shown to violate the United States laws covering freedom of speech.

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