Antagonistic 1:

“But as we’ve seen with the Ag-Gag bills, state laws often are written by big corporations. Nowhere is that more obvious than in states where cruel methods of treating animals are exempted from state laws on the basis of their being classified as “customary.”

Rebuttal: According to the article entitled, “Idaho Dairymen’s Association Speaks Out Against Animal Activists’ Motives, Methods”, this bill is not designed to limit the amount of animal cruelty reports or disable a persons ability to report unlawful treatment of animals. In fact, there will be phone line that may be used to report animal abuse or mistreatment immediately after it happens. The bill proposed was also written up by the Senate without the help of big corporations.

Protagonist 2:  “Opponents of Senate Bill 1337 who participate in or condone this type of conduct call it an “Ag-gag” bill to mislead people into believing that the bill will enable Idaho farmers to hide animal cruelty. Testimony before the Senate and House Agricultural Affairs committees has clearly demonstrated that SB 1337 does not prohibit lawful reporting, investigation and prosecution of animal cruelty. There is a hotline at the Idaho State Department of Agriculture to immediately report any abuse or perceived abuse. This hotline can be anonymous if the caller chooses.”

Antagonistic 2:

“Ag Gag is a term to describe state-level legislation aimed at punishing whistle blowers on factory farms throughout the United States. These bills have recently been sweeping the nation, and are the agricultural industry’s attempt to hide the abuses and horrific conditions animals on factory farms must endure. Although each state’s Ag Gag legislation is different, they are all written to ensure abuse on factory farms are left unreported and hidden from public scrutiny.”

Rebuttal: The author of the article, “Do you Support Ag-Gag laws?” shed some light on the fact that many of these whistle blowers go into the farms undercover and instigate occurrences of abuse amongst animals. The author seems to think that these animal organizations are going into the farm factories with the mindset that they will find evidence of abuse even if there is none present. As a result of this, the agriculture industry suffers.

Protagonist 3: “What’s more, I also know that PETA and HSUS supporters are usually behind these terrible videos depicting animal abuse. And, if they aren’t behind the camera catching the action, they are usually the ones initiating the abuse. And, these organizations strategically release these videos to wreak havoc on the agriculture industry, which usually results in litigation, loss of jobs and a direct shot at the markets.”