(a) Beginning January 1, 2016, the TBI shall post a publicly accessible list on its website of any person convicted of an animal abuse offense on and after that date.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 40-39-103

  • Animal: means a companion animal, and a "non-livestock animal" as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 40-39-102
  • Animal abuse offense: means :
    (A) Aggravated cruelty to animals, under §. See Tennessee Code 40-39-102
  • animal abuser: means a person who has been convicted in this state of committing an animal abuse offense. See Tennessee Code 40-39-102
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Conviction: means a judgment entered by a Tennessee court upon a plea of guilty, a plea of nolo contendere, or a finding of guilt by a jury or the court, notwithstanding any pending appeal or habeas corpus proceeding arising from the judgment. See Tennessee Code 40-39-102
  • Director: means the director of the TBI. See Tennessee Code 40-39-102
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • TBI: means the Tennessee bureau of investigation. See Tennessee Code 40-39-102
(b)

(1) The list shall include a photograph taken of the convicted animal abuser as part of the booking process, the animal abuser’s full legal name, and other identifying data as the TBI determines is necessary to properly identify the animal abuser and to exclude innocent persons.
(2) The list shall not include the abuser’s social security number, driver license number, or any other state or federal identification number.
(c) The court clerks shall forward a copy of the judgment and date of birth of all persons convicted of an animal abuse offense to the TBI within sixty (60) calendar days of the date of judgment.
(d)

(1) Upon a person’s first conviction for an animal abuse offense, the TBI shall maintain the person’s name and other identifying information, described in subsection (b), on the list published under subsection (a) for two (2) years following the date of conviction, after which time the TBI shall remove the person’s name and identifying information from the list; provided, that the person is not convicted of another animal abuse offense during that two-year period.
(2) Upon a person’s subsequent conviction for an animal abuse offense, the TBI shall maintain the person’s name and other identifying information, described in subsection (b), on the list published under subsection (a) for five (5) years following the date of the most recent conviction, after which time the TBI shall remove the person’s name and identifying information from the list; provided, that the person is not convicted of another animal abuse offense during that five-year period.
(e) The list shall remain on the TBI website for such time as determined by the director.
(f) The TBI shall remove the person’s name and identifying information from the registry list if the sole offense for which the person is required to be subject to the mandates of the registry is expunged, pursuant to § 40-32-101.
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