Abuse of animals is abhorrent to almost all of us. Were we to learn of horses or dogs having been viciously kicked in the face, stomped upon, beaten with sticks, or dragged by chains pulled taut around the neck, we would scream in protest. In 2012, video recordings were made of just such abuse of dairy cows at the Bettencourt Dairies in southern Idaho. The response of Idaho’s $2.5 billion dairy industry was to lobby for legislation that criminally penalizes those who would record and report such abuse. Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter signed this legislation — the “Ag Gag bill” — into law in February. Fines and jail time now faced by such whistleblowers in Idaho exceed those of the abuser.

ROBIN HELM, M.D.

Sandpoint

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