State Rep. Janis SontanyNASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -
The horse trailer wreck on the interstate two weeks ago is shining a light on how lenient the regulations are in Tennessee for livestock haulers.
READ PREVIOUS STORIES
Livestock dealers only have to be inspected once a year - and that does not include a site visit - only a check of their paper records.
Those inspection records show where dealers are buying and selling their horses, and the horses health certificates, but the records are not open to the public.
State Rep. Janis Sontany found that out when she asked the Department of Agriculture for shipping records from Three Angels Farm. That's the company involved in the January wreck.
Sontany got a letter from the agriculture department's lawyer saying the records are not open to members of the public; she could see them as a state official as long as she didn't share them with anyone.
"So I have to go to the department of agriculture to look at confidential documents,which is incredible to me, that these records are confidential," Sontany says.
Three Angels Farm has been in operation officially since July. They have yet to be inspected by the state.
Copyright 2012 WSMV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
All
content ©Copyright 2000 - 2012, WSMV, Nashville, TN.
(A Meredith Corporation Station) and WorldNow. All rights
reserved.