Idaho Lawmakers Want to Outlaw Videos of Men Sexually Abusing Cows—But Not for the Reason You Expect

The Los Angeles Times
reports:

Striking back at a proposed Idaho law that would
ban undercover filming at farms, an animal rights group released
video Tuesday of a dairy worker sexually abusing a cow.

The graphic scene, recorded in 2012, was not initially released
when Los Angeles-based Mercy for Animals pushed authorities to
investigate animal abuse at Bettencourt Dairies in Idaho. The
original video showed about two minutes of lashings, beatings and
stompings suffered by cows.

The dairy quickly fired five people after that video was released
and installed surveillance cameras throughout its facility. The man
seen fondling a cow’s vagina in the newly released video eventually
spent 102 days in jail.

Idaho lawmakers have proposed legislation to punish people who
cause damage or videotape farm work after entering through force,
threat, misrepresentation or trespass. It would be a misdemeanor
punishable by a year in jail or a $5,000 fine — the same as
convicted animal abusers.

Just to be clear: Trespassing is already illegal in Idaho. The
bill, like other “ag gag” proposals, targets the trespassers’
speech (and also the speech of whistleblowers who arguably were not
trespassing). For a detailed case against such laws, which also
often contain the seeds of bizarre unintended consequences, see
Baylen Linnekin’s Reason articles
here and
here. His arguments might not move the bill’s most
vociferous supporters, who have been calling the people who
make such videos “agri-terrorists”
among other stupid overblown rhetorical flourishes. But I suspect
that other readers will find Linnekin’s case compelling.

As for the footage released this week, you can watch it here. Don’t worry,
it doesn’t feature man/cow intercourse. But it does show a guy
fingering a cow’s genitals and making various lewd remarks, so it’s
probably NSFW and it certainly isn’t for the squeamish.