It’s difficult to gauge the effectiveness of clandestine videos and photographs when it comes to curbing abuse of animals at vast factory farms and at slaughter facilities, and as with most questions, the answer depends on who you ask. Animal welfare advocates use the images as proof of what they say are systemic problems; industry supporters claim that the whistle-blowers are picking on an unrepresentatively small sample of offenders.

There can be little doubt, though, that these images have raised public consciousness of a serious problem. And it’s equally clear that videos and photographs of deplorable conditions at equine slaughter facilities helped shape public opinion regarding the slaughter of horses for human consumption in this country