A Tennessee bill requiring anyone recording or taking photos of livestock abuse to turn images over to law enforcement within 48 hours has been approved in the House with 50 votes -- the bare minimum needed to clear the chamber.
Animal protection activists like the Humane Society of the United States say the bill would have a chilling effect on whistleblowers and prevent undercover operations from establishing a pattern of abuse. In 2011, the Humane Society secretly filmed video inside a Tennessee Walking Horse stable showing trainers applying caustic substances to the horses' legs and beating them to make them stand. The trainer later pleaded guilty in federal court last September.
