Protect Your Farm Against Undercover Video

The headlines are jarring — livestock farms accused of mistreating the animals entrusted to their care. These headlines are sometimes accompanied by videos (staged or not) that are, quite frankly, difficult to watch. Farms can take certain steps to avoid being the target of the activist groups that use these undercover videos in an attempt to turn consumers against commercial livestock production.

Image from DFA

Proper employee training is the best way to protect against legitimate animal care issues on your farm. The National Pork Producers Council provides animal well-being resources for pork farms. Groups like DFA and FARM make materials and certifications for cow care available to dairy farmers. The United Egg Producers provides a voluntary animal well-being certification for hen care. Similar programs exist for other livestock groups. All of these programs require farmers to give their employees a solid foundation of training.

In addition to legitimate animal care issues, it is also important to consider how to prevent staged interactions or manipulated situations that can give the appearance of an animal care issue. First and foremost, farms should request references as part of the employment application. It goes without saying the farm should actually check those references! Farmers should ask new employees to sign an employment contract. It does not need to be 1,000 pages long — farms can “right size” the contract for their operation. An employment attorney can help craft a short agreement that addresses the specific concerns on a farm. It should, at a minimum, address using cell phones or other recording technology at the farm. It should highlight the importance of animal well-being and require the employee to immediately notify the manager if they see any animal care issues. Here in Indiana, we have a strong trespass law that applies to livestock farms (and other states have varying types of anti-undercover video laws), but a private employment contract can prohibit actions a state law cannot. Contact an attorney for more details.

Image from United Egg Producers

Once a new hire starts, a livestock farm should continue to provide animal care training. Existing employees should keep an eye out for any unexplained behavior — a new worker videotaping animals, mistreating animals, going into areas not required for their job description, or coming in early/staying late without explanation. Managers or owners should frequently check back in with new hires and observe the employees working directly with animals.

Livestock farms are in a tough place right now: it can be hard to find good employees, but farms must remain vigilant and selective about hiring to ensure the safety of their animals and the security of the farm in general. Proper screening practices at the hiring stage and adherence to animal care standards will help protect a farm against being a target for activist groups’ undercover video tactics.

This post is not legal advice — contact an attorney if you have questions about hiring practices or employment concerns.