Since a Republican majority was elected to the North Carolina state legislature in 2012, Gov. Pat McCrory (R) has signed into law bills that cut unemployment benefits, restrict voting rights, limit health care access and infringe on abortion rights. He even repealed the Racial Justice Act, intended to prevent discriminatory application of the death penalty.

But some bills passed by the GOP legislature are so egregious that even the conservative McCrory has felt compelled to exercise his veto. Take House Bill 405, which McCrory vetoed on May 29, the latest in a growing number of what are known as “ag-gag” laws. The details vary state by state, but the intent remains the same: to criminalize people who blow the whistle on animal abuse, labor violations, groundwater pollution and further malpractice within factory farms—and often in other industries.

On June 3, the North Carolina House and Senate overrode McCrory’s veto and House Bill 405 was passed into law. Effective January 1, 2016, it will be illegal in North Carolina for an employee to record “images or sound occurring within an employer’s premises” provided that she entered those premises without “bona fide intent” to carry out her employment, and that she uses this recording “to breach the person’s duty of loyalty to the employer.” Unattended cameras are also barred.

Targets of the bill include animal rights groups like the Mercy For Animals, PETA, the Humane Society, and Compassion Over Killing, all of which hire undercover investigators to find temporary employment within the meat industry, research labs, puppy mills, zoos and circuses to expose abuses. These groups’ exposés have made national news on multiple occasions, spurring change in the industry and generating popular support for animal welfare.

Vandhana Bala, General Counsel for Mercy For Animals, calls undercover investigations “the only meaningful and effective watchdogs” for the animal agriculture industry, given the dearth of laws regulating farmed animal welfare. Such investigations “serve an absolutely crucial role” in protecting these animals, she says.

McCrory is no fan of undercover investigators. “I support the purpose of this bill,” he wrote on his official website. He explained, however, that he vetoed House Bill 405 because it “does not adequately protect or give clear guidance to honest employees who uncover criminal activity. I am concerned that subjecting these employees to potential civil penalties will create an environment that discourages them from reporting illegal activities.”

It is also now illegal to even “assist” such a violation, which would not only punish the animal rights groups who hired the investigators but potentially even journalists who publicize illegally obtained recordings. And while the public debate has largely revolved around animal agriculture—North Carolina is home to nearly 10 million hogs—the same penalties would apply to whistleblowing employees in all industries, from daycare centers to nursing homes.