In Canada, the animal agriculture industry operates with a high degree of self-regulation. There are no federal animal welfare laws regulating what happens on farms, and most existing provincial “animal cruelty” laws include exemptions for “generally accepted agricultural practices.” Therefore, large-scale producers of meat, milk and eggs essentially get to decide for themselves how to address myriad social issues, from handling animals to greenhouse gas emissions—the proverbial “fox watching the henhouse.” As if that were not enough, farms may gain extra special protection from Bill C-275, An Act to amend the Health of Animals Act (biosecurity on farms), a proposed agricultural gag or “ag-gag” law designed to further impede transparency.

Ag-gag laws are those that “aim to suppress animal rights activism and prevent undercover investigations of industrial animal agriculture.” Bill C-275, a private Member’s bill introduced by Conservative MP John Barlow, is framed as an effort to protect biosecurity, but it would stifle undercover exposés in Canada.

It reads: “No person shall, without lawful authority or excuse, enter a building or other enclosed place in which animals are kept, or take in any animal or thing, knowing that or being reckless as to whether entering such a place or taking in the animal or thing could result in the exposure of the animals to a disease or toxic substance that is capable of affecting or contaminating them.”

There are countless problems with this proposed law, including the fact that it:

Standards of care are often low in industrial animal agriculture, with animals regularly confined in small cages, subjected to painful mutilative practices, denied the opportunity to socialize or go outdoors, and slaughtered inhumanely at a fraction of their life expectancy.
*Photo credit: Michael Bernard/Humane Society International*

Duplicates existing trespass laws and interferes with provincial jurisdiction.
Will do nothing to address the root causes of zoonotic disease outbreaks—unhygienic conditions coupled with poor biosecurity standards and adherence by farm owners and employees.
Unfairly targets animal advocates and whistleblowers, who have never been found to cause a farmed animal disease outbreak in Canada.
Puts farmed animals at greater risk of abuse, given that exposés are the only way in which their mistreatment can be brought to light.
May make it more difficult to reveal environmental problems (the industry plays a leading role in climate change, deforestation, antimicrobial resistance and air, soil and water pollution).
Will criminalize workers for speaking out in certain situations, especially in Ontario and Alberta, where new ag-gag laws deem that anyone who gains access to farms, transport trucks or slaughterhouses under “false pretences” is trespassing.
Threatens food safety by seeking to stop investigative activities that could keep contaminated food off the market.

In the U.S., ag-gag laws have repeatedly been rejected or struck down because of their profound infringements on the right to free speech. Moreover, they have not prevented significant food safety issues from arising. In North Carolina, an ag-gag law took effect in 2016. Two years later, in 2018, there was an outbreak of salmonella at a facility operated by Rose Acre Farms in that state. The outbreak prompted the recall of 206 million eggs and resulted in at least 22 people becoming ill.

Anti-whistleblowing laws have no place in a free and democratic society such as Canada. Please join us in urging legislators to recognize this Trojan horse bill for what it is and vote against Bill C-275.

Riana Topan is a senior campaign manager for farm animal welfare with Humane Society International/Canada, which together with its affiliates is one of the largest animal protection organizations in the world.

Ag-gag Laws: A Prime Example of Agricultural Exceptionalism