The Tennessee State Capitol in downtown Nashville.VIDEO
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State Sen. Dolores Gresham
Tennessee State Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-ColliervilleNASHVILLE – People who shoot video or take photographs of animal cruelty will have to submit the material to law enforcement within 48 hours or face being charged with a crime under a bill approved by the Senate on Tuesday.
The House is expected to take up the bill on the floor today after efforts by opponents to re-refer the bill to the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee failed in the Calendar and Rules Committee on a 7-12 vote.
Similar efforts are being made in other states.
Proponents say the bill is aimed at protecting animals. But critics like the Humane Society of the United States say it is really an “ag gag” bill aimed at blocking investigators from sound documentation of animal abuse, such as that which has plagued the Tennessee walking horse industry over decades.