The ag world moves fast and keeping up to date with what’s going on can be tough. Hannah Thompson Weeman is the President and CEO of Animal Ag Alliance, a group formed to help farmers and processors in the world of animal ag. She’s going to catch us up on what’s going on with some key court cases and what we need to keep in mind when it comes to anti animal ag activists.
Court cases across the country involving anti animal ag activists have been on the rise. While a case involving a stolen goat in 2018 resulted in a guilty verdict, a more recent case resulted in a jury finding two activists accused of stealing piglets, not guilty. Thompson Weeman says she believes this court case win for activists will lead to more theft of animals from farms.
Making sure that animals are well taken care of is the most important way we can prevent being the target of activists, Hannah also reminds us that basic farm security is a smart move. Activists aren’t just trying to get jobs on farms to obtain access, drones and making personal connections with workers to gain access is also part of the activists’ strategy.
If you see someone trespassing, flying a drone over your property or otherwise acting suspicious, Hannah says that calling law enforcement is completely justified. She says taking photos of people and cars is a good place to start. If you choose to approach the person you can ask them about their activities or inform them if they are trespassing but don’t engage in arguing.
Another change in activist’s game plan is to now target restaurants and food brands. They pressure brands to reduce offerings of animal proteins under the guise of pushing for sustainability. Some chains such as Dominoes have pushed back against that pressure and stated they support the farmers that supply their products.
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