In a 2008 case in California, the HSUS inserted someone into a slaughterhouse for an investigation of "downer cows" -- cows that are "non-ambulatory" -- unable to walk. These cows have a higher risk of having mad cow disease so if they are being used for food there is a slight risk to public safety.
According to the New York Times:
Consider again the time frame: the Humane Society investigator began shooting film in early October. If what he saw was really a danger to the food supply, didn’t he and Mr. Pacelle have a responsibility to bring it to the federal government immediately? Instead, the undercover investigator stayed on site for another six weeks. Even then, the federal government didn’t learn of the video until it was leaked to The Post at the end of January — nearly two months later.Well, you do the math. Mr. Pacelle and HSUS do these undercover investigations -- and go on filming for weeks -- not because they care about animals but because they want to get as much media attention as possible. Because media attention translates into dollars for them. What does the suffering of a few cows matter when compared to filling the bank accounts of the Humane Society of the United States? So what if there's a remote possibility that someone in the U.S. could develop mad cow disease? That would just mean more money for HSUS because they would have more ways to attack the cattle industry.
Mr. Pacelle claims that the San Bernadino district attorney’s office — to which he gave the tapes in late November, so that it could prosecute the abuse — asked him not to show the video to the U.S.D.A. until it had completed its investigation. But I read several news articles quoting San Bernadino officials contradicting that account...And even if that were true, why did he release the video to The Washington Post — well in advance of the completion of the district attorney’s investigation? Well, you know the answer to that one: he just couldn’t stand the thought of one more day passing without making a big splash.
Does anyone really believe it took six weeks of filming for someone to get enough video evidence in this case, and that animals had to continue to suffer all this time? Well, sometimes you have to film a lot of footage when you plan to edit it a certain way. The plant was closed down once the federal authorities finally got involved, but that was only after Pacelle and HSUS had been milking the case for media attention.
In this case the USDA forced the company to recall 143 million pounds of meat -- the largest beef recall in U.S. history. But because it took so long for HSUS to turn over their video and inform the government about the problems at the plant, most of that meat had already been eaten by the time the recall was issued. So, if there had been something wrong with the meat, the recall wouldn't have done any good.
This is not how we want undercover investigations to be conducted in Tennessee but this is how HSUS conducts their investigations and why they want Gov. Haslam to veto HB 1191/SB 1248. They sit on evidence for weeks and months while abuse continues, even when it threatens public safety. The Animal Cruelty and Abuse bill would require someone to turn over photos or video of abuse of livestock in an investigation within 48 hours to law enforcement authorities.
Please contact Gov. Haslam NOW and ask him to sign this Livestock Cruelty and Abuse Bill into law!
(615) 741-2001 or email him: bill.haslam@tn.gov 
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