NASHVILLE, Tenn. – When it comes to protecting animals, Tennessee has a lot of room for improvement, according to the president of the Humane Society of the United States Wayne Pacelle.
Pacelle talked to Nashville's News 2 about HSUS involvement in emergency rescue operations in Tennessee.
"We have spent millions here deploying to help animals," Pacelle said, adding that is more money spent in any other state in the country.
Pacelle added, in Tennessee, "We're responding to dog fights, cock fights, horse starvation cases, hoarding cases, puppy mills and natural disasters."
When asked why the HSUS sends more emergency help to Tennessee than anywhere else, Pacelle pointed to one of many factors.
"There are a lot of gaps in the state. Nearly four dozen counties don't have animal care and control so if there is an animal crisis, who's going to handle it?" he asked. ‘There are no local assets."
In 2008, when Hickman County authorities busted the largest puppy mill operation in state history, HSUS officers had to step again and in 2009, when dozens of starving horses were rescued from a Cannon County farm, extra help was also sent in.
"It's tremendously expensive," said Pacelle of their efforts. "One of our deployments on horses here cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars."
When it comes to passing laws that protect animals, Pacelle says the Volunteer State is in the middle of the pack but there's room for improvement.
"Tennessee has one of the weakest anti-cock fighting laws in the country," Pacelle told Nashville's News 2. "We've had bills in the state year after year and members of the House Agriculture Committee keep blocking it. In fact, the leader of the House Agriculture Committee says cock fighting promotes tourism and that's good for the state's economy."
Still, Pacelle believes an increase in the number of animal abuse cases may be an indicator that law enforcement and the public are beginning to take the issue more seriously.
Rep. Frank Nicely of Knoxville is the chair of the House Agriculture Committee.
He told Nashville's News 2 cock fighting is part of Southern heritage and doesn't believe it warrants more punishment than a misdemeanor, which is the current law.
