PETA Statement re Gov. Pat McCrory’s Veto of H.B. 405

For Immediate Release:
May 29, 2015

Contact:
Shakira Croce 202-483-7382

The following statement is regarding Gov. Pat McCrory’s veto of House Bill 405, North Carolina’s “ag-gag” bill that threatened to penalize eyewitness investigators and employers for exposing institutionalized and often violent criminal abuse of animals on factory farms and in slaughterhouses, laboratories, and other facilities.

With the power that eyewitness investigations have to put criminals behind bars and expose the institutionalized abuse of animals, PETA is very pleased to learn that Gov. McCrory has sent this bill packing—and with it, the dangerous precedent that is set when whistleblowers are penalized for speaking out against cruelty to animals. North Carolina joins 19 other states that have defeated “ag-gag” bills, including Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, and Washington just this year.

— PETA Senior Vice President, Lisa Lange