Lawsuit aims to reveal FBI’s close collaboration with animal agriculture industry to target animal rights activists
In 2005, the FBI declared 'animal rights extremism was one of the highest domestic terrorism priorities'. A 2019 internal FBI memo alleges that animal rights activists have increased the spread of viral pathogens in factory farms. FBI agents conducted raids of multiple animal sanctuaries looking for animals and the homes of animal rights activists to elicit information about the movement.
ANIMAL PARTISAN: Animal Partisan has filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) against the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The lawsuit alleges that the FBI improperly withheld records detailing its involvement with the animal agriculture industry. Animal Partisan is represented in the suit by the Farmed Animal Advocacy Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School and the Sorenson Law Office.
Animal Partisan’s lawsuit stems from a FOIA request seeking records related to the FBI’s participation in multiple animal agriculture industry conferences held by the North American Meat Institute (NAMI). NAMI touts itself as “the oldest and largest trade association representing U.S. packers and processors of beef, pork, lamb, veal and turkey” and claims to represent companies that produce 95% meat in the United States. The organization’s annual “Animal Care and Handling Conference” attracts notable meat industry resources, including Temple Grandin, executives from multi-national meat corporations, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the National Pork Board, and representatives from major agricultural universities. The conference claims to offer “valuable insights” and “key strategies” for “continuous improvement in animal care.”
But Animal Partisan believes that the FBI has used the conference as a vehicle to target animal rights activists and presumably to discuss and share new strategies to undermine those who spotlight the abuse and misconduct prevalent in industrial animal agriculture.
The FBI first claimed that the requested records did not exist, but after Animal Partisan pushed back, the agency denied the request, claiming that the documents were privileged under FOIA and exempt from disclosure as they were “records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes”, the release of which “could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.”
Animal Partisan’s lawsuit, filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that the FBI violated FOIA by withholding the records and asks the court to order the FBI to produce the records and pay attorney’s fees and costs.
This case highlights only the latest in the FBI’s long history of attempting to stifle animal rights activism and perpetuate the status quo of industrial animal agriculture. In an appearance before the Senate in 2005, the FBI declared that “animal rights extremism” was “one of the FBI’s highest domestic terrorism priorities.” In 2017, the FBI expended considerable resources—including as many as eight FBI special agents—conducting raids on multiple small animal sanctuaries searching for piglets taken from a Smithfield-owned factory farm in Utah by Direct Action Everywhere. A 2019 internal FBI memo alleges that animal rights activists have increased the spread of viral pathogens in factory farms. The FBI’s interest in animal rights activists is regularly on display as documented visits to the homes of animal rights activists and attempts to elicit information regarding the movement.
FOIA exists to promote transparency into the workings of the federal government. No government agency, including the FBI, is above the law and Animal Partisan’s lawsuit seeks to hold the agency accountable. SOURCE…
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