As their name implies, Ag-Gag laws are designed to silence whistleblowers and undercover investigators by penalizing those who document conditions inside animal agriculture facilities. Originally aimed at shielding instances of animal cruelty from public view, these laws have recently expanded in states like North Carolina and Arkansas to cover a wide range of private industries, including hospitals, elder care facilities, and schools. This broader reach threatens the ability to expose misconduct across multiple sectors, even as transparency remains critical to protecting animal welfare, public health, worker safety, and environmental standards.
Industrial farming operations rely on secrecy to conceal the realities of large-scale animal production, but the public has a legitimate interest in understanding how billions of animals are treated and whether laws are being violated. Undercover investigations have repeatedly uncovered disturbing abuses—animals beaten, injured, or left to suffer—as well as routine practices such as confining pigs in crates too small to turn around, removing body parts without pain relief, and dragging sick animals to slaughter. In response to these revelations, the animal agriculture industry has pushed for Ag-Gag legislation in more than half of U.S. state legislatures over the past decade. While six states currently enforce such laws, several others have seen them struck down in court as unconstitutional, underscoring the ongoing legal and ethical debate over transparency and accountability in industrial farming.
Alabama – Passed an ag-gag law in 2002. It makes it illegal to obtain access to property “by false pretenses” and to possess records obtained by deception.
Arizona – Introduced H.B. 2587 in 2014. Failed.
Arkansas – Introduced legislation in 2013. Failed. Passed an ag-gag law in 2017 that created a civil cause of action allowing businesses to sue whistleblowers who expose abuses happening on their farms/businesses.
California – Introduced legislation in 2013. Failed.
Colorado – Introduced S. 42 in 2015 to require reporting of cruelty within 48 hours. This "quick-reporting" bill would prevent the collection of adequate evidence to show patterns of abuse, neglect or abandonment, potentially hindering prosecution of abusers. Bill tabled in February by its sponsor.
Florida – Introduced legislation in 2012. Failed.
Idaho – Passed an ag-gag law in 2014, which in August 2015 was struck down by the Idaho District Court as unconstitutional.
Illinois – Introduced legislation in 2012. Failed.
Indiana – Introduced legislation in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Bills failed in 2012 and 2013. Introduced S.B. 101 in 2014 which was later stripped of ag-gag-type provisions.
Iowa – Passed an ag-gag law in March 2012 that criminalizes providing false information on an employment application with the intent to record images. In January 2019, the U.S. District Court of Southern District of Iowa struck down the law as unconstitutional. Passed a new ag-gag law in March 2019 that criminalizes using deception to gain access to an agricultural production facility with the intent to cause harm to the business. In 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa issued a preliminary injunction, blocking the law’s enforcement. Later that year, Iowa passed another ag-gag law that criminalizes trespassing on a “food operation” without consent. Passed another ag-gag law in 2021 that criminalizes the use of cameras or surveillance devices on farms, as well as taking unauthorized samples. In January 2024, a federal appeals court reversed lower courts and ended two injunctions that blocked Iowa's Ag-Gag laws from being enforced and deemed them constitutional.
Kansas – Passed the Farm Animal and Field Crop and Research Facilities Protection Act in 1990. It criminalizes “enter(ing) an animal facility to take pictures by photograph, video camera or by any other means” with the intent of causing harm to the enterprise. In 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas struck down nearly the entire law as unconstitutional. In 2021, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s finding of unconstitutionality.
Kentucky – Passed S.B. 16 in 2024, an ag-gag bill that prohibits the operation of unmanned aircraft systems, video or audio recording devices or photography equipment on or above a concentrated animal feeding operation or commercial food manufacturing or processing facility without written consent of the owner or authorized representative of the facility.
Minnesota – Introduced legislation in 2011 and 2012. Failed.
Missouri – Passed an ag-gag law in July 2012. Mandates that evidence of animal abuse must be turned over to law enforcement within 24 hours, preventing the collection of adequate evidence to show patterns of abuse, neglect or abandonment, and potentially hindering prosecution of abusers.
Montana – Passed an ag-gag law in 1991. It criminalizes “entering an animal facility with the intent to commit a prohibited act, entering an animal facility to take pictures by photograph, video camera, or other means with the intent to commit criminal defamation, and entering an animal facility if the person knows entry is forbidden.” Introduced a quick-reporting bill in 2015 providing that "a person who knowingly fails to report evidence of cruelty to animals at an animal facility within 24 hours commits the offense of cruelty to animals." The ASPCA opposes quick-reporting bills. Bill died.
Nebraska – Introduced legislation in 2012 and 2013. Failed.
New Hampshire – Introduced legislation in 2013. Failed. Reintroduced H.B. 110 in 2014. Bill died.
New Mexico – Introduced legislation in 2013. Failed. Introduced a quick-reporting bill in 2015 to make failure to turn over evidence of animal abuse within 24 hours of collection a misdemeanor. Failed. Also introduced S.B. 167 in 2017 to make using drones to conduct surveillance of a farm illegal. Failed.
New York – Introduced legislation in 2011 and 2012. Failed.
North Carolina – Introduced legislation in 2013 and 2014. Failed. In 2015, ag-gag bill H.B. 405 passed and was vetoed by Governor McCrory, but the NC House and Senate overturned the veto. H.B. 405 went into effect on January 1, 2016. The law prohibits anyone from gaining access to the non-public area of their employer's property for the purpose of making secret recordings or removing data or other material. The law creates a civil cause of action, allowing a business to sue for damages. In February 2016, the ASPCA joined a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of H.B. 405. In June 2020, the Middle District Court of North Carolina struck down the law as unconstitutional. That victory was upheld in February 2023, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that undercover investigations and whistleblowing are considered newsgathering activities protected by the First Amendment.
North Dakota – Passed the Animal Research Facility Damage Act, which makes it a class B misdemeanor to “[enter] an animal facility and using or attempting to use a camera, video recorder, or any other video or audio recording equipment.”
Pennsylvania – Introduced legislation in 2013. Failed.
South Carolina – Introduced legislation in 2023 to establish additional criminal penalties for advocates who enter animal agriculture facilities. The legislation failed.
South Dakota – Passed S.B. 114 in 2025, an ag-gag bill that prohibits the use of "deception to gain access to or employment at an agricultural facility that is not open to the public, with the intent to cause physical or economic harm or other injury to the agricultural production facility.” The legislation also prohibits the knowing use or placement of “a camera or electronic surveillance device that transmits or records images or data” without consent and while criminally trespassing.
Tennessee – Introduced legislation in 2013, which was passed by Legislature but vetoed by Governor. Introduced legislation again in 2014, which failed. H.B. 1838, introduced in January 2016, prohibiting anyone from gaining access to the non-public area of their employer's property for the purpose of making secret recordings or removing data or other material. Failed.
Texas – Passed H.B. 1643 in June 2017, which makes it illegal to use a drone to take photos over a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO). Introduced legislation in 2021, which was later amended to remove the ag-gag provisions.
Utah – Passed an ag-gag law in March 2012 criminalizing numerous actions related to accessing and recording agricultural operations. In July 2017, the U.S. District Court of Utah struck down the law as unconstitutional.
Vermont – Introduced legislation in 2013. Failed.
Washington – Introduced legislation in 2015 to create the crime of “interference with agriculture production” and classifies it as a gross misdemeanor with maximum penalties of one year in jail, a $5,000 fine, or both. The legislation failed.
West Virginia – Introduced legislation in 2019 to prohibit access to “nonpublic areas” for reasons other than intent to perform authorized work, including capturing photographs and videos or removing other data or documents. The bill would create a civil cause of action, allowing businesses to sue for damages. The legislation failed.
Wyoming – Introduced legislation in 2013, which failed. Introduced S.F. 12 in 2015 to criminalize collection of "resource data" (including photos and video) on private land and prohibit it from being used as evidence in criminal trials. Governor Mead signed S.F. 12 into law in March. A 2016 revision to this law seems to indicate that it is not targeting animal cruelty investigations. In September 2017, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the law as unconstitutional.
Other states have related statutes that are sometimes called "eco-terrorism" or "animal enterprise interference" laws.
Sources:
https://aldf.org/issue/ag-gag/
https://www.aspca.org/improving-laws-animals/public-policy/what-ag-gag-legislation
