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In many cases animal handling facilities have been closed and fines imposed by regulators in response to photos and videos showing animal abuse. So how does the industry and the politicians in their pocket respond? Not by cleaning up their act and getting the worst facilities to comply with the law. Instead they are using new laws to punish those who reveal the truth.
"Critics Say Tennessee Bill Aimed at Reducing Animal Cruelty May Actually Protect Food Industry
* By Cari Wade Gervin* MetroPulse * Posted March 27, 2013 at 10:35 a.m.
Taking pictures at a petting zoo? Videotaping a trip to a farm? Those actions alone could land you a $50 fine and a Class C misdemeanor, if you accidentally happen to see an animal abused—that is, if a new law passes in the Tennessee Legislature.
The bill, HB 1191/SB 1248, sponsored by Rep. Andy Holt (R-Dresden) and Sen. Dolores Gresham (R-Somerville), would make it a crime to not turn over any unedited videos and photographs that record cruelty to livestock to law enforcement authorities within 24 hours......
“This is not about animal protection. This is about protecting the food industry,” says Leighann McCollum, the Tennessee State Director of the Humane Society of the United States. “This is about blowing the whistle on the whistle-blower as soon as possible.”
McCollum says if the bill were actually about preventing cruelty to animals, it would cover all animals, not just livestock (that is, livestock as specifically defined by the Tennessee Code Annotated). If the bill was about animal cruelty, she says, it would require anyone who sees abuse to report it, not just those filming or photographing it. And if the bill were really about animal abuse, it would require law enforcement to investigate the complaints. The legislation, as currently written, does no such thing.
What it would do, however, is prevent long-term investigations into animal cruelty and safety in the agricultural business. And that, says McCollum, is exactly the point......"
Critics Say Tennessee Bill Aimed at Reducing Animal Cruelty May Actually Protect Food Industry » Metro Pulse
ALEC, the right wing pro-corporate lobbying group is pushing for these laws in several states. Often the legislation also includes a ban on taking employment in a facility with the purpose of exposing animal cruelty. Several states have passed them and more are pending on other states. I don't know of any court decisions on the constitutionality of these laws.
"Critics Say Tennessee Bill Aimed at Reducing Animal Cruelty May Actually Protect Food Industry
* By Cari Wade Gervin* MetroPulse * Posted March 27, 2013 at 10:35 a.m.
Taking pictures at a petting zoo? Videotaping a trip to a farm? Those actions alone could land you a $50 fine and a Class C misdemeanor, if you accidentally happen to see an animal abused—that is, if a new law passes in the Tennessee Legislature.
The bill, HB 1191/SB 1248, sponsored by Rep. Andy Holt (R-Dresden) and Sen. Dolores Gresham (R-Somerville), would make it a crime to not turn over any unedited videos and photographs that record cruelty to livestock to law enforcement authorities within 24 hours......
“This is not about animal protection. This is about protecting the food industry,” says Leighann McCollum, the Tennessee State Director of the Humane Society of the United States. “This is about blowing the whistle on the whistle-blower as soon as possible.”
McCollum says if the bill were actually about preventing cruelty to animals, it would cover all animals, not just livestock (that is, livestock as specifically defined by the Tennessee Code Annotated). If the bill was about animal cruelty, she says, it would require anyone who sees abuse to report it, not just those filming or photographing it. And if the bill were really about animal abuse, it would require law enforcement to investigate the complaints. The legislation, as currently written, does no such thing.
What it would do, however, is prevent long-term investigations into animal cruelty and safety in the agricultural business. And that, says McCollum, is exactly the point......"
Critics Say Tennessee Bill Aimed at Reducing Animal Cruelty May Actually Protect Food Industry » Metro Pulse
ALEC, the right wing pro-corporate lobbying group is pushing for these laws in several states. Often the legislation also includes a ban on taking employment in a facility with the purpose of exposing animal cruelty. Several states have passed them and more are pending on other states. I don't know of any court decisions on the constitutionality of these laws.
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