HB 0132 by Lundberg / SB 0285 by Ketron)
Criminal Offenses - As introduced, enacts the "Animal Fighting Enforcement Act," increasing penalties for certain offenses involving animal fighting. A second or subsequent cockfighting offense will be a Class E felony. Also increases penalty for being a spectator at any type of animal fight to a Class A misdemeanor.
This bill has failed once again this year with some strong arguments from Sen. Frank Niceley. Sen. Niceley was quoted as saying, "This bill isn't about chickens, it's not about cockfights. It's about killing animal agriculture in America." Exactly. Niceley also said, “HSUS spent $50,000 trying to defeat me in the last election.” Senator Niceley was formerly the chairman of the House Agriculture committee and has been opposed to animal rights legislation in the past. He's definitely on the HSUS hit list.
Although this bill is pushed as something that would stop cockfighting, opponents of the bill say it would affect farmers who raise chickens for show. Many people feel that the penalties in the bill are too harsh.
HB 1260 by Durham / SB 1359 by Johnson) a.k.a. "Walter's Bill" ****Deferred to Summer Study****
Animal Cruelty and Abuse - As introduced, specifies conditions upon which tethering a dog may be cruelty to animals.
We have no idea who "Walter" is. This is a stupid bill, not to put too fine a point on it. Tennessee's animal cruelty laws already include tethering if a dog is suffering any kind of bodily harm (§ 39-14-202. Cruelty to animals (a) (5)(b) "A person commits an offense who knowingly ties, tethers, or restrains a dog in a manner that results in the dog suffering bodily injury as defined in § 39-11-106."). Every hunter in the state opposes this bill, along with farmers who have dogs. If you train a dog for hunting using a "chain gang" then you have placed your dog on a short tether and you know that this proposed law is unworkable. Farmers don't like it because there are times when they need to tether a dog to keep them from chasing livestock; and because they do not like to give animal control any reason to come snooping around their farms where they are trying to operate a business.
Tethering a dog responsibly for training or other reasons is not cruel and this is just another backdoor attempt to restrict people from using tethering as a confinement method. The bill did not have enough support and has been deferred for summer study. We have been advised that hunters, farmers, and dog owners will be welcome to attend these summer study sessions so they can explain why this bill is not needed.
HB 0462 by Lamberth / SB 0581 by Haile)
Animal Cruelty and Abuse - As introduced, provides for the placement of abused animals with any governmental animal control agency, law enforcement agency, or their designee and deletes provision allowing for the suspension of required security bonds for indigent persons charged with offenses against animals.
I'm very sorry to say that this misguided forfeiture bill passed. Although we believe the sponsor was well-intentioned, the bill does not actually help animals and it will make it easier for dog owners to lose their animals. It probably won't make a lot of difference as to who can take control of animals if they are seized, since, in practice, rescues and shelters already do so, but it will shorten the time an owner has to come up with security from 15 days to 10 days. This is still longer than people have in many states but we would have preferred to continue to allow Tennesseans to have 15 days to come up with the money/bond/security necessary to pay for the care of their animals if they are seized. The new law also does away with exemptions for the indigent or those who cannot pay to get their animals back -- and that's more people than you might think considering how fast costs add up once animals are taken. We believe that the Louisville Kennel Club's case against the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government might apply to this law in some particulars.
HB 1191 by Holt / SB 1248 by Gresham)
Animal Cruelty and Abuse - As introduced, requires a person who records cruelty to animals as committed against livestock to report such violation and submit any unedited photographs or video recordings to law enforcement authorities within 24 hours of the photograph's or recording's creation.
We absolutely LOVE this bill! Yes, this is one of the celebrated "Ag Gag" bills you've been hearing about. They've been introduced in about 12 states this year and have already been passed in a few. These bills have been winding their way through the Tennessee legislature this session and HSUS is so worried about it that they actually hired another lobbyist just to lobby against this bill. They hired former state representative Eric Swafford, someone connected with the Tennessee Walking Horse industry, to lobby against this bill and try to get the Walking Horse people on his side. But the bill affects a lot more than Walking Horses. It affects every farmer, every kind of agriculture, everyone who breeds dogs or any kind of animal.
The bill would require someone who takes undercover photos or video to turn them over to authorities in a timely manner instead of sitting on them for weeks or months -- as people and groups have done in the past. They have done this to edit and doctor evidence and to use them for fundraising purposes. Not only does this allow animals to continue to suffer unnecessarily (and it's withholding evidence), but it's deceptive, and in the case of food animals, it can place all of us at risk. If there is something going on at a farm that involves the food we eat then authorities need to know about it quickly so they can take action before someone gets sick.
Critics say that these bills would mean the end to their "undercover" investigating but that's not true. They can investigate -- they just have to turn over their photos and film as they go along. This prevents them from tampering with them and alerts the authorities to the situation. In the case of child abuse we don't let an outside group conduct an undercover investigation for weeks or months without alerting authorities while the children suffer. No! They have to report the abuse immediately. That's the same thing this law would require with animal abuse. If you love animals you should be in favor of this bill. I know I couldn't sit back and let animals suffer while I continued to photograph or film a situation for weeks.
HB 0621 by Gilmore / SB 0865 by Tate ***WITHDRAWN***
Animal Control - As introduced, requires owners of dangerous and vicious dogs to secure minimal liability insurance.
This bill began as a "vicious dog" bill and quickly got worse. It added an amendment to become a breed specific law against "pit bulls" or bully breeds. Thanks to a great article by Jim Matheny with WBIR.com, and strong negative reaction to the bill from dog lovers across Tennessee, this bill was withdrawn by the sponsor. We're not sure what prompted Representative Gilmore to propose the bill, however, other than the fact that Nashville, where she lives, has some problems with roaming dogs in some areas.
That just leaves one more bill we're watching this session:
Search & Seizure - As
introduced, enacts the "Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act." -
Amends TCA Title 29 and Title 39.
This is a bill that limits the use of drones in Tennessee. Not only is this an animal issue, with PETA already stating that they plan to use drones to "stalk" hunters, fishermen, and farmers, but it's a serious privacy issue, and we're glad to see the legislature placing reasonable limits on the use of drones. This technology has advanced rapidly and citizens have no protection from eyes in the sky. All kinds of groups support legislation to limit drone use inside the United States, from Tea Party groups to the ACLU. This bill looks poised to be passed any time now.
So, that's where we currently stand. The drone bill and the "Ag Gag" bill remain to be decided. By all means, contact your representative and senator and let them know you support these bills. Click here to find your Tennessee legislators.
Thank you!
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