Action needed on animal cruelty bill!

Humane TN PAC
"Ensuring Animals Have a Voice in TN"
Greetings!

 

SB1248, commonly known as the "ag gag" or "anti-whistleblower" bill, was put on notice by the bill's sponsor, Dolores Gresham, and will be heard Tuesday, Mar. 26, at 1:00 p.m. in the Senate Judiciary Committee. HB1191, the House version, will also be heard in the Agriculture & Natural Resources  Committee at 10:30 a.m. that same day.

  

This bill states that a photo or video depicting cruelty to animals must be turned over to law enforcement within 24 hours, and while this may sound like a good idea to some, it is not.  This bill is meant to curb the influx of photographs and videos that animal advocates collect to expose cruelty that otherwise would not be seen.  One photograph or one video generally is not enough to obtain a conviction of animal cruelty (consider the investigation into the Tennessee Walking Horse scandal last year) and thus, documentation over a period of time is required.  Even if this evidence is turned over to law enforcement immediately, the allegations may not be taken seriously and the alleged crime may not even be investigated.  Where does this leave the animals?  Or the person who turned in the evidence?  This bill blows the whistle on the whistleblower and is detrimental to investigations; it must be stopped.

 

Action needed:

 

Please contact your Senator (to find this information, click here and enter your address) and ask them not to support this bill.  In addition, if your Senator serves on the Judiciary Committee (click here for the complete list), please let him/her know you are a constituent and would like them to vote "no" on this bill.  Please also contact the Senate bill's sponsor, Dolores Gresham, at 615-741-2368 and sen.dolores.gresham@capitol.tn.gov and ask her to withdraw this bill.  If your Representative serves on the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee (click here for the complete list), please let him/her know you are a constituent and would like them to vote "no" on this bill.

 

Please let us know at info@humanetnpac.org if you get any responses from your legislators.  Thank you for taking action!

 

Sincerely,

 

Payton Robbins, Legislative Liaison

Humane Tennessee PAC

www.humanetnpac.org

 

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