Ellen Speaks Out on Ag-Gag Bills

For weeks, my colleagues and I have been sounding the alarm about a spreading threat to the animal protection movement nationwide and, more broadly, to transparency and free speech in our society – the introduction by state lawmakers of anti-whistleblower, or so-called ag-gag bills, in about a dozen states. I was in Nashville on Monday for a press conference at the Tennessee State Capitol urging Governor Bill Haslam to veto the Tennessee anti-whistleblower bill that would make it virtually impossible to conduct an undercover investigation at a factory farm or horse stable. And yesterday, I was in Los Angeles for a taping of America’s top daily talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which will broadcast today and include my interview with Ellen.

Watch Ellen today on your local affiliate, and go to Ellen’s Facebook page to share the interview with friends, family members, and others.

In the interview, I called on concerned citizens, especially Tennesseans, to contact Governor Haslam to veto this legislation. But I also asked everyone to get engaged in our fight to protect our rights and to understand what’s happening with the industrialization of animal agriculture.

The HSUS does so many things, including working very hard to reveal what’s really happening with animals in our society – even if the supply chains extend thousands of miles from us, and the use of animals is far removed from our daily experience.  We are so disassociated from what happens to animals in some sectors of the economy, and The HSUS is trying to close that gap and to call good people to conscience.  Even if abuse or exploitation happens in a far-off place, we are morally connected to it through the supply chains that sell and distribute food in restaurants, supermarkets, and other retail outlets.

At the end of the interview, Ellen surprised me by letting me know that if 25,000 people share the interview she conducted with me, then The HSUS will receive a $25,000 donation. I love the idea of more people seeing the interview and getting this additional support so we can redouble our efforts to expose cruelty and abuse, so I do hope you’ll spread the word.