[drawlins27]

This makes me proud to live in TN. I LOVE this idea!

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"TN Senator Calls For Animal Abuser Registry"

A state lawmaker believes people who abuse animals belong on a state-wide list, just like a sex offenders, and is sponsoring a bill to support it.

The bill, sponsored by Senator Doug Jackson from Dickson, would put convicted animal abusers on a registry, similar to that of a sex offender registry and run by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, for 10 years.
The registry would then be posted online for all to see.

Animal control officials think that is a very good thing.

Judy Laudebauche, with Metro Animal Control, said, “When we're talking violence whether it's towards people or animals in our community, I think everyone has a right to know about it.”

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations would be in charge of the maintaining the list.

The problem is, creating a whole new registry can get expensive and take a lot of people.

TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm said,“Anytime you have a registry it takes manpower, quite a bit of manpower to get things done. On our sex offender registry, we have over 10,000 people who are on there now, that is a lot of attorneys time, agents’ time…”

If the legislation is passed, it would go into effect next year July 1.

Supporters of the bill hope it mean less animals will be victims of abuse.

The bill also calls for a $2,500 fine for people who attend illegal dog fights.