Your home is your castle ... at least it’s supposed to be.

You should be able to feel safe and peaceful in your home, and the rest of your family should be able to enjoy being in your home without fear of disruption or harassment. Unfortunately, animal rights activist groups do not agree with this concept. To them, your home is not your castle — it’s just one more place that they can go and protest as part of their pressure campaigns to make your company feel like your back is against the wall and you have to cave to whatever demand they are making, regardless of how disruptive it will be to your business and how little it will impact animal welfare, if at all.

We’re seeing an uptick in animal rights-related protests at the homes of company and association executives, so unfortunately all leaders of meat companies need to start thinking about how to handle such an incident. As a first step, I suggest doing some research to see if your state or municipality has a law against residential picketing. Some states like Illinois and towns like Brookfield, WI, have laws in place stating limitations, such as this from Illinois state law: “[R]esidential picketing, however just the cause inspiring it, disrupts home, family and communal life; that residential picketing is inappropriate in our society, where the jealously guarded rights of free speech and assembly have always been associated with respect for the rights of others.” Even if your area does not have laws against residential picketing, other laws may be helpful to know, such as noise ordinances or restrictions on blocking sidewalks or roadways.

Police officers may or may not be familiar with these laws, so I recommend doing your own research and keeping relevant laws handy for quick reference if needed.

If your company or association does find itself in the activist crosshairs, you should anticipate that protests will not just happen at plants or offices but may spread to executives’ homes as well. Make sure your leadership team is prepared for this and proactively reach out to local law enforcement about the potential for issues (make sure to cite laws regarding residential picketing as noted above so they are aware if an incident does occur). As with all protests, the most important thing is to avoid confrontation. People who are being targeted should remain in their homes as much as possible and if they do go outside avoid any interaction with protesters. If a home protest is likely or has been announced on social media, the targeted person and their family should find an alternative place to stay if possible. It is also highly recommended to hire private security to keep watch as this will deter activists from trespassing and security can stop them immediately if they do cross the line.

As with much of the advice I offer here in this blog, I hope you never need it — but I hope it’s helpful if you do.

Home protests by activists on the rise — be prepared

Join for free* to continue reading.