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To the Editor:

As a North Carolina resident, I’m pleased that the Supreme Court rejected the state’s appeal in a dispute over the law aimed at preventing people from gathering evidence of cruelty to animals.

People have a right to know how animals are treated before they’re sold for human consumption. The meat, egg, and dairy industries shouldn’t expect anyone to blindly buy animal-based foods without knowing what goes on inside factory farms and slaughterhouses.

I’ve seen footage of gratuitous cruelty at a North Carolina pig farm where injured pigs were dragged and beaten.

Workers at another North Carolina pig farm received felony indictments after PETA released footage showing farmers beating pregnant sows, skinning pigs alive, and sawing off a conscious animal’s legs.

Ag-gag laws are designed to allow this type of cruelty to remain hidden from the public. But people should be encouraged to speak out if they see or suspect animal abuse and other unethical activities.

Of course, the best way to help pigs and other farmed animals is to stop eating them altogether.

Christina Matthies

Vice President of Content Strategy

PETA Foundation

Norfolk, VA