Ag-gag repeal is good for us all

Livestock, including cattle, hogs, chicken, and turkeys are generally raised in very crowded conditions and require regular doses of antibiotics to keep them 'alive.” Much of their food is not what they would normally eat. In any case, for these animals, I believe, their lives are somewhat equivalent to living in the Biblical Hell. A human analogy could be placing two or three naked people in a cage about the size of a bathtub and requiring them to live most of their lives there, along with being occasionally hosed off.

Repeal of the Iowa ag-gag law is great because most meat, dairy and egg producers have hidden behind this law to maintain horrible conditions their 'commodities” are forced to live in - invisible to outsiders. Some others probably do their best to raise their 'commodities” humanely. However slaughter still is gruesome. Others are children who raise their livestock, almost as pets, sadly knowing they will be slaughtered after they have been shown.

Unfortunately, the only way abuses seem to be discovered is for some bold people to unofficially enter a facility, including slaughterhouses, and take photos and videos and then make them public. Now they can do this. This is about trying to tell the public how their animal food is being produced.

Just what happens to people who mistreat their pets, including, but not limited to, dogs, cats, and horses? They are fined, if caught, and their animals are taken.

Dean Barnum

Cedar Rapids