Animal rights activists have been threatened by a new law, the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), that seems to violate our 1st Amendment rights (allowing the government to give protesters the label “terrorist”). Now, they are fighting back. A group of activists have filed a federal lawsuit opposed to the act.
“Plaintiffs Sarahjane Blum and Iver “J” Johnson, who have both been animal rights activists for more than a decade, said AETA intimidated activists into silence and squashed their movement,” Truthout reports.
“I spent years uncovering conditions on foie gras farms and educating the public about the way ducks and geese are abused,” said Blum. “I no longer feel free to speak my mind on these issues out of fear that my advocacy could actually convince people to stop eating foie gras – affecting those businesses’ bottom line and turning me into an animal enterprise terrorist.”
Zachary Shahan
If you couldn't guess, I spend most of my time on CleanTechnica and Planetsave. I'm the director/editor of both sites and am a little obsessed with them. I'm also Publishing Services Manager at Important Media, which means that I do everything I can to support other Important Media writers, editors, and directors (as well as the network as a whole) in the good work they are engaged in. You can also find my written work on Scientific American, Reuters, Change.org, and most of the sites in the Important Media network. For a full list of my author pages on sites around the internet, or to connect with me on common social networks, go to zacharyshahan.com
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
Click on a tab to select how you'd like to leave your comment
- WordPress
