Idaho pays $260,000 in legal fees in dairy spying lawsuit
Idaho officials have agreed to pay $260,000 to the attorneys for an animal welfare group following a federal court ruling that found the state’s law banning spying at farms, dairies and slaughterhouses violated free speech rights.
The Idaho Press reports the Constitutional Defense Council approved the payment to the Animal Legal Defense Fund on Wednesday.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge B. Lynn Winmill issued the order in December as part of a settlement between Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and the Animal Legal Defense Fund and others.
The dairy industry pressed for the law after Los Angeles-based Mercy For Animals in 2012 released videos that showed workers at Bettencourt Dairy in southern Idaho beating and stomping cows, and using a tractor to drag a cow by a chain attached to her neck.
