Will Coggin: Laws shouldn’t protect animal abuse

In response to the Jan. 15 editorial “Court should strike N.C.’s ‘ag-gag’ law”: You could not be more incorrect in claiming that “going to the authorities or going to the media is ultimately the same thing” when it comes to surreptitious recordings of alleged workplace misconduct.

Taking a film quickly to authorities allows law enforcement to step in and stop a problem as well as investigate the allegations. In contrast, taking it to the media means any alleged abuse can continue because law enforcement doesn’t know about it.

In the case of animal rights activists such as the Humane Society of the U.S. filming on farms, they have waited weeks or months to turn over the footage to authorities – an inexcusable delay.

We have laws requiring the reporting of child abuse. Requiring the reporting of workplace misconduct, particularly animal abuse, only makes sense.

This story was originally published January 26, 2016 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Will Coggin: Laws shouldn’t protect animal abuse."