A county attorney in Utah dropped agricultural interference (which animal activists have dubbed "ag-gag") charges against four animal activists who were taking photos at a Utah pig farm in September, according to media reports. The activists, members of Bethesda, Md.-based Farm Animal Rights Movement, pleaded not guilty last week to the charges, filed under a law that prohibits undercover investigations at agricultural facilities.
Police said the members trespassed on private property owned by Circle Four Farms in Iron County, Utah, and took photos. Their attorney argued they were on a public roadway and captured no images of workers or animals. The Utah pig farm, part of Murphy Brown LLC, the livestock subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, asked Iron County Attorney Scott Garrett to drop the charges. The activists still each face one misdemeanor count of criminal trespassing.
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