A rabid bat, the first this year, has been found in Louisville. (Getty Images)

LOUISVILLE �� The Louisville health department says a bat found in the East End was positive for rabies, a rare but deadly viral disease.?

This is the first rabies case in Jefferson County this year, Ciara Warren, environmental health manager at the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness (LMPHW), said Thursday.?

��It is quite rare, but it is always a possibility,�� she said.

The bat, found in the 40207 ZIP Code on a homeowner��s porch, is now dead after euthanasia and testing. The homeowner covered the bat and called the health department, and she was not exposed to rabies.?

In 2023, Jefferson County had two rabies-positive bats, according to the health department. Previous year totals are:?

• 2019 �C 4 bats?
• 2020 �C 2 (1 bat, 1 dog)?
• 2021 �C 7 bats?
• 2022 �C 3 bats?

The health department does not know where the 2024 bat could have contracted rabies, Warren said. Rabies typically spreads through blood or saliva.?

How to stay safe if you come across a bat?

Health department staff said if you come across a bat, the safest thing is to assume the bat has rabies, and do not touch it.?

Instead, cover the bat with something, if possible. Then, call the health department at 502-574-6650 and ask for someone with the rabies prevention program for further help and instructions.??

��Bat teeth are very tiny, so most of the time, you do not know if you’ve been bitten or scratched by a bat,�� Warren said. ��Sometimes bats, if they do have rabies, and maybe are further along since they’ve contracted it, they might be showing some signs, maybe swooping kind of low, laying on the ground. They might look a little bit sick. You might think that they have rabies, but the safest thing to do is just avoid it, and do not touch any bat.��?

If someone is unsure of exposure, one should call their doctor immediately, said Dr. Kris Bryant, associate medical director at LMPHW and pediatric infectious disease specialist at Norton Children��s Hospital.?

��Rabies is a viral infection, and once the virus enters your body from the bite or a scratch of an animal or even just handling an infected animal, the virus travels to the brain and can cause severe inflammation,�� Bryant said.?

Symptoms of rabies include confusion, agitation and coma.?

��Once you develop symptoms, there is no treatment for rabies,�� Bryant said. ��Once you develop symptoms, the infection is uniformly fatal. So the most important thing to do is to prevent exposures by not handling bats.��?

If someone suspects exposure but isn��t sure, they can seek post exposure prophylaxis, which in the case of rabies is a series of rabies vaccines and a dose of rabies immune globulin, Bryant said.?

They should call their doctor to discuss that treatment as soon as possible, Bryant said.?

Even though human rabies is rare, ��once someone has symptoms, we don’t have effective treatments,�� she said. ��And so once someone is sick with rabies, they almost always die.��?

How to protect pets?

Since 2019, one dog has tested positive for rabies in Jefferson County.?

Ideally, all pets would be vaccinated against rabies ahead of time, Warren said. Either way, pet owners should call their veterinarian immediately to discuss options. There is no cure for pets, like humans, so all pets should stay up-to-date on their rabies vaccines.?

��They would most likely recommend a 10-day quarantine, which is just where you monitor your animal for 10 days to make sure they don’t develop any signs or signs or symptoms of rabies,�� Warren said.?

Symptoms in a dog or cat include lethargy, foaming at mouth, stumbling and aggression.?

A Valentine meet and greet benefit with Ethan in 2022 sold out. (Kentucky Humane Society)

Legislators and advocates who pushed for years to make dog and cat torture a felony on first offense gathered in the Capitol Rotunda Tuesday to celebrate a new Kentucky law that does just that.?

House Bill 258, also called Ethan��s Law, allows a person to be charged with a Class D felony the first and every time they torture a dog or cat. It was previously a Class A misdemeanor on first offense and Class D felony after that.?

The law��s namesake, Ethan, won hearts over as he recovered from severe neglect in 2021. During the session, Ethan, primarily a brindle Presa Canario, came several times to Frankfort to testify in favor of it.?

It passed the legislature this year with bipartisan support and Gov Andy Beshear signed it into law in April. It went into effect Monday.?

The new law defines torture as the ��intentional infliction of or subjection to extreme physical pain or serious injury or death to a dog or cat, motivated by intent or wanton disregard that causes, increases, or prolongs the pain or suffering of the dog or cat, including serious physical injury or infirmity.��?

Ethan��s owner, Jeff Callaway, has said that after being sold as a puppy, Ethan was traded for drugs and endured a ��hellish�� chapter of his life that ultimately led to him being abandoned in the Kentucky Humane Society parking lot. Veterinarians nursed him back to health, which included helping him gain around 50 pounds and learn to walk again.

Louisville Republican Susan Witten, who sponsored Ethan’s Law, said Tuesday that it ��makes Kentucky a better place to live �� not just for dogs and cats that we love but for every community, for every person in our community.��?

That��s because, she and others pointed out, research suggests people who harm animals are more likely to hurt people.?

��It��s unimaginable the pain our furry friends can go through when they��re left helpless (in) restraints,�� Secretary of State Michael Adams said. ��These animals suffer broken bones, starvation, even impalement.��?

He praised the legislative move to ��keep our best friends safe, and punish those who hurt them.��?

A wild turkey hen and her brood. (Photo by Pat Howard courtesy of Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources)

State fish and wildlife agencies are conducting scientific research to shed more light on the status of turkey populations �� and need the public’s help, according to a news release from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

The department is encouraging anyone who observes wild turkeys in Kentucky during July or August to enter some basic information about their sightings into an online survey portal. Data collected through this survey help the department to better understand turkey population trends over time.

To report sightings, visit fw.ky.gov and enter the key words ��turkey survey�� in the search bar to access the summer turkey online survey portal. A printable form of the survey may also be downloaded, printed and filled out, then scanned or photographed with a smartphone and emailed to [email protected].

Turkey observation data gained through public participation are used in conjunction with research findings, making this citizen-science data set vital for long-term conservation, says KDFWR.

��The turkey population is studied by department staff and graduate student researchers, but they can only cover a limited area of the state,�� said Zak Danks, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Wild Turkey Program coordinator. ��Keen-eyed volunteers who report turkey sightings through this survey really expand our ability to monitor the flock.��

The turkey program compiles data from these observations from interested citizens and staff into a statewide index of hatch and survival of young turkeys, or ��poults.�� This index helps department biologists assess reproductive success, which is important to the sustainability of the wild turkey population.

While Kentucky turkey hunters have reported near-record statewide harvests each of the past two spring hunting seasons, hunters across the southeastern U.S. have reported seeing fewer turkeys in recent years.

��A lot has changed across the Commonwealth since this survey began in 1984, back when turkeys were being released to restore a statewide population,�� Danks said. ��Today, turkey flocks face many pressures, including predation and disease. Whether we��re talking turkeys or Kentucky��s other native species, having an engaged citizenry to help monitor wildlife will be key to helping us adapt into the future.��

Synchronous fireflies in a meadow at the 2021 Pennsylvania Firefly Festival. (Peggy Butler)

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. It is republished with permission. Sign up for their newsletter here.?

Every year in late June, Peggy Butler and her husband, Ken, welcome visitors to rural northwestern Pennsylvania for the chance to glimpse the rare and beguiling Photinus carolinus. This firefly species flashes synchronously, creating dazzling spectacles of light. The abundance of fireflies on their property in Forest County �� there are at least 17 species in addition to the synchronous firefly �� led the Butlers to found the Pennsylvania Firefly Festival.?

Launched in 2013, the annual event has become so popular that the Butlers had to institute a lottery system to protect the fireflies that visitors so desperately wanted to see. This year, 2,500 people applied for just 130 spots.?

The intense interest in the festival highlights how much Americans love fireflies. Summer nights spent watching fireflies (and debating whether or not they should be called lightning bugs) are a cherished tradition across the country. But this tradition could be threatened by climate change, according to a new study.?

Researchers found that climate change is among the most serious threats to firefly populations in the United States. To understand what determines firefly abundance, researchers analyzed more than 24,000 surveys conducted by citizen scientists from 2008 to 2016 using the program Firefly Watch.?

Other studies have established that short-term weather affects fireflies, which makes sense because their life cycles last between one to two years, with most of that time spent as larvae living in the soil, where they are particularly vulnerable.?

��What we were really surprised to find is it��s also long-term weather patterns, like averages and things that are expected to change with climate change, that are actually the number one drivers of firefly populations,�� said Darin McNeil, the study��s lead investigator and an assistant professor of wildlife ecology and management at the University of Kentucky. Increasing temperatures have a negative impact on fireflies, McNeil said, and as some places become hotter and drier, their firefly populations could disappear.?

Like the giant panda, fireflies are a charismatic ambassador for their less iconic brethren, shining light on the plight of declining insect populations worldwide. ��There are a lot of insect species that are in dire need of conservation work and scientific study,�� McNeil said. ��But it��s sometimes hard to get people excited about dung beetles, for example.��?

Recent research has shown that insect populations fell by 45 percent in the last 40 years, a collapse so extreme that scientists have branded it ��the insect apocalypse.�� Anecdotal evidence suggests firefly populations are also in decline, and 14 species of fireflies in North America have been assessed as threatened. The Bethany Beach firefly, found only in coastal Delaware and Maryland, is critically endangered.?

For many people, even those who are afraid of other insects, fireflies evoke wonder, magic and nostalgia, a symbol of fairy tales and childhood. ��They��re friendly little bugs. They don��t bite. They don��t sting,�� Peggy Butler said. ��That light really attracts people to ask, ��How do they do that?�� And it sparks their curiosity.�� She paused, laughing. ��Sorry for all the puns.��?

Catching fireflies and marveling at their light is a shared experience across time and geography. ��They��ve been written about and sung about for centuries,�� said Sarah Lower, a co-author of the study and an assistant professor of biology at Bucknell University. ��I mean, how fascinating is it that an insect produces its own light?��

Conservationists hope that by learning more about and educating people about what hurts fireflies, they will also help other insects who are harmed by the same things. Other than climate change, fireflies are threatened by pesticides, light pollution and unrestricted development.

The Allegheny National Forest, where the Pennsylvania Firefly Festival is held, is largely sheltered from some of these scourges of modern life. ��It��s very wild here. We have half a million acres of national forest where we live,�� Butler said. ��Fireflies prefer very dark places. There has to be a lot of moisture and undisturbed soils.��?

The Butlers avoid pesticides, rarely mow and limit the use of outdoor lighting during the summer. Fireflies flash to attract mates, and light pollution interferes with their signaling.

At the festival each year, guides lead small groups of attendees into the forest to witness the synchronized flashing of Photinus carolinus. It is often a powerful and emotional experience, especially for people who have never seen a firefly before. ��When we take them back into the forest, into the pitch darkness, and they see that synchronous activity, they��re wowed,�� Butler said. ��You can hear the murmurs. You can hear the ��Wow, oh my gosh. Look at that.����

Photinus carolinus was previously thought only to live farther south, in the Great Smoky Mountains. In the Smokies, these insects�� mating displays are a ��big phenomenon,�� Lower said, making the region a beacon for firefly tourists. It is not known if Photinus carolinus exists elsewhere in northern Appalachia, though Lower theorizes that it��s possible, and they have been found in other parts of Pennsylvania.?

Lower was a member of the team that first confirmed the presence of Photinus carolinus in the Allegheny National Forest in 2012, and she is now on the board for the Pennsylvania Firefly Festival, advising the organization about how to keep the event sustainable.

A map of firefly abundance and ideal climate conditions generated for the recent study shows hot spots in Pennsylvania, and McNeil called Pennsylvania ��the heart of firefly country.�� This is perhaps why the firefly is the state insect. But what climate change will mean for Pennsylvania��s beloved fireflies in the long-term is still unclear.?

Because of climate change, Pennsylvania is becoming hotter and wetter,with increased rainfall and more intense storms. Butler has seen how flooding can affect the fireflies on her property. ��In 2015, we had a big flash flood in our area, and it wiped out the undergrowth about two weeks before the festival in the forest right behind us,�� she said. ��That year, and for two to three years after that, we didn��t see the synchronous fireflies in those areas at all.��?

Lower said it��s too soon to predict what will happen to fireflies in specific places because of climate change, and outcomes will be different for each species and will depend on their habitat requirements. ��The thing I��m most concerned about is if it changes really rapidly,�� she said. ��We actually don��t have a very great idea of how far fireflies can travel.��

McNeil said firefly populations may appear stable to people in Pennsylvania as climate change accelerates, even though what is actually happening is a ��turnover in species.�� There are more than 100 species of fireflies in the United States, and some of those species, like the common Big Dipper firefly, named for its J-shaped flight trajectory, may thrive, even as other, less adaptable species are lost.?

Lower and McNeil encourage people to manage their properties in ways that benefit fireflies, by leaving leaf litter on lawns over the winter, for example, and to participate in community science around fireflies. The efforts of residents across the United States made this study possible and could make others possible in the many areas of firefly research that are understudied. Collecting data about fireflies in your own backyard ��can go a long way toward their conservation,�� McNeil said. ��And if you bring your kids out to count fireflies, those are future conservationists.��?

Fireflies may be small but their presence��and diverse abundance��is important. ��We could probably lose all of our fireflies, and it would not impact your day to day much, aside from the summer nights being a bit less magical,�� McNeil said. ��But fireflies serve as what we would call a bioindicator, telling us something about the broader health of our ecosystem.�� Their disappearance is a warning, not only for insect populations but for us. ��The question is,�� McNeil said, ��how many species can we lose before we see huge consequences to human society?��?

A herd of wild swine is called a sounder. (USDA)

FRANKFORT �� Because an ��educated�� pig is harder to track or trap, Kentucky is taking steps to prevent the hunting of feral hogs known to damage crops, woodlands and potentially spread disease.?

Kentucky wildlife management officials are finalizing a ban on the hunting of wild pigs in an effort to more easily capture them. Under the new regulation, pigs could still be shot if they��re damaging private land, although wildlife experts are encouraging landowners to instead contact the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to have the animals removed.?

Steven Fields, an attorney for the department, told lawmakers during a legislative hearing earlier this week that if a sounder �� the name for a herd of wild swine �� knows it��s being hunted, the sounder avoids humans and shifts its activities to night, making it harder to track.

The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission, the governing board overseeing the KDFWR, voted in December to approve a regulation eliminating the existing year-round hunting season for wild hogs.

Ben Robinson, the wildlife division director at the state agency, told the board the department was trying to prevent ��anybody from shooting a pig at any time�� because it can make feral hogs hard to trap en masse, something state and federal officials have actively been pursuing.?

��It goes against what we��re trying to do with our trapping efforts by educating these pigs, making them much more difficult to trap,�� Robinson said in December. ��We��re having a lot of success with our partners, [U.S. Fish and] Wildlife Service, USDA, in trapping these animals and keeping them out of Kentucky. So by allowing landowners to just shoot freely, that goes against what we��re trying to do.��?

To report wild pig sightings, damage or criminal release, call 1-800-858-1549.

Robinson said other wildlife management agencies in the South had recommended the Kentucky agency take measures to prevent a problematic ��pig hunting culture�� from being established.?

The agency has been encouraging ?Kentuckians to refrain from shooting feral hogs and instead report sightings so that the animals can be trapped and removed.

U.S. Department of Agriculture data as of January 2024 shows the range of feral hog populations including parts of Eastern Kentucky, Northern Kentucky and counties near the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. Wild pig populations have been steadily moving northward and westward, according to the USDA.?

Feral hogs can carry a number of diseases harmful to wildlife, livestock and humans, along with causing billions of dollars in agricultural damages across the country. One analysis highlighted Kentucky as one of the top 15 states affected by invasive wild pigs.

Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, told reporters the Senate vetted appointees to be sure they weren't out to retaliate against Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Rich Storm. (LRC Public Information)

FRANKFORT �� The GOP-dominated Kentucky Senate confirmed nearly all of Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear��s appointments to a board governing the state��s wildlife management department following pushback from sportsmen��s groups over the Senate failing to do so in past years.

Senators in the final hours of this year��s legislative session Monday confirmed four of the five appointments made by Beshear this year to the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission, a nine-member board made up of volunteer hunters and anglers overseeing the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR).?

Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, told reporters Monday evening the Senate decided to confirm the four appointments after ��lots of discussion, lots of review, lots of research�� �� and that a priority for the Senate was protecting Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Rich Storm, the department��s chief executive.??

��There was a comfort level that this would not be some type of retaliatory appointment to get rid of commissioner Storm.��

��There’s been a lot of friction between the governor and the commissioner,�� Stivers said. ��We think the commissioner has done a really good job in fish and wildlife.��?

Gary Greene of Greenup was the only Beshear appointee not confirmed by the Senate.

Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, had sponsored a resolution to confirm Greene, which the Senate did not vote on.

Stivers said he believed Greene��s social media comments about ��particular members of the state Senate�� led to Greene not getting confirmed.?

Greene in a Lantern interview said he hadn��t made ��any political posts�� on social media since he was appointed by Beshear in January. But he said he was active on social media last year supporting Beshear��s reelection, which he believed shouldn��t be a consideration of whether to confirm his appointment.?

��The bottom line is: what’s that got to do with my ability to sit there and make a rational decision to run fish and wildlife? Just because I don’t bow and kiss the ring of the Republican Party,�� Greene said.

Greene said he spoke with Beshear for ��about 20 minutes�� in his office when he was appointed, and Storm never came up in that discussion. Greene was also appointed by former Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear to the commission in 2015, only to also not be confirmed by the Senate then.

The commission, by state law, is supposed to be bipartisan with ��not more than five of the same political party�� sitting on the nine-member board.?

Greene said he was disappointed with not being confirmed and that he had wanted to help protect and promote small game in Kentucky, particularly the ruffed grouse.?

��I feel like I��ve let a lot of people down who supported me,�� Greene said.

The commission, by state law, is supposed to be bipartisan with ��not more than five of the same political party�� sitting on the nine-member board.?

Edwin Nighbert, the president of the League of Kentucky Sportsmen representing thousands of hunters across the state, has been one of several critics of the Senate not confirming past commission appointments. Nighbert told the Lantern he was glad the Senate decided to confirm most of Beshear��s appointments.?

��That��s what the sportsmen wanted,�� Nighbert said. ��We can get back to doing the business and the commission do what the commission��s mission is, and that is to make the department accountable across the board.��?

Senate refusals to confirm appointments had left the nine-member board with three vacancies, which will now be down to one vacancy after Monday��s confirmation votes.

The process for appointing commission members begins in district nominating meetings of Kentuckians who hold a hunting or fishing license. The governor then appoints a commission member from the top-five vote getters at the district meetings. Finally, the Senate has to confirm that appointment.

Leadership of groups representing sportsmen and wildlife conservationists have previously accused senators of weaponizing the Senate confirmation process against the voices and votes of sportsmen, saying they have refused to confirm commission appointments for partisan political reasons, including the Senate��s desire to protect Storm who has clashed with the Beshear administration over a number of issues. The board has the power to hire, and potentially fire, a KDFWR commissioner.?

Politics swirl around who will oversee Kentucky Fish and Wildlife

Beshear��s administration and the KDFWR have fought over the length of Storm��s contract as commissioner �� at one point stopping Storm��s paychecks due to the dispute? ��? and over executive branch oversight of how the KDFWR implements procurement and conservation easements.???

Beshear in March urged the Senate to confirm his commission appointments, urging the Senate? to ��stop protecting leadership of what I think is the most corrupt part of state government.�� When asked what he thought was corrupt about the KDFWR, Beshear during a press conference that same month pointed to a special examination of the department by a former Republican state auditor in late 2018 criticizing practices and spending at the department, along with how Storm was controversially hired as commissioner in early 2019.

��If leadership in an organization only answers to you on a board, you’ve got to be an active board. You got to make sure things are running right,�� Beshear said in the press conference.?

A review by the Lantern of Greene��s public Facebook posts shows he had asked? people to call senators in support of his appointment to make sure the 8th commission district isn��t left vacant, leaving hunters and anglers ��without their rightful representation.�� Greene also wrote posts in the past three years, before he was appointed by Beshear, criticizing the Senate for refusing to confirm past commission appointments.

Webb, the senator who sponsored Greene��s confirmation resolution, in an interview said she was ��aggrieved�� Greene wasn��t confirmed believing he didn��t get a chance to talk about his social media use with senators, ideally in a public committee hearing. In past years, senators have brought forth some, but not all, commission appointments to a committee hearing to ask questions of appointments before a potential confirmation vote.?

Webb said she had a floor speech ready in case the Senate again rejected most of Beshear��s commission appointments. She said she plans to work on improving the confirmation process in an effort to avoid vacancies on the KDFWR board.?

Webb said she was relieved the Senate confirmed most of the the appointments.??

��If we would have left that much of Kentucky’s population of sportsmen go without representation, I was to going to go a little nuts,�� Webb said. ��I want the sportsmen to maintain a vote, maintain a voice in this, but I want everybody to do their due diligence that��s involved in the process and do it in a timely fashion to prevent vacancies.��?

Webb was a vocal opponent against a Senate bill that didn��t become law which would have stripped Beshear of his power to appoint commission members and given it to Republican Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell.?

A national advocacy group says a bill approved by the Kentucky legislature will criminalize investigations of industrial agriculture abuses. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

An animal protection advocacy group released footage from a ��hidden-camera investigation�� Monday of what it says is cruel treatment of chickens being transported from poultry operations in Kentucky �� an investigation the group says would be criminalized under a bill recently approved by the Kentucky legislature.

Mercy For Animals, a California-based nonprofit which describes its mission as to ��end industrial animal agriculture by constructing a just and sustainable food system,�� in its published video showed workers throwing chickens into cages for transport. Some chickens are kicked and thrown around as workers navigate the enclosure, and at least one chicken is stepped on as a worker tries to catch it. The video narrator says six-week-old birds living in ��overcrowded barns�� are ��kicked, thrown and stuffed into cramped transport cages.”

A separate video the group shared with the Lantern details documentation, including screenshots of GPS locations the group��s investigator visited and video of the investigator allegedly talking with other workers. They appear to show the poultry houses, which the group describes as contract farms, are in Western Kentucky and provide chickens to Pilgrim��s Pride, one of the country��s largest poultry producers with a meatpacking plant in Graves County.

The group is releasing the footage as part of its opposition to Senate Bill 16, sponsored by Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, which would criminalize using drones or recording equipment at commercial food processing and manufacturing plants and concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) without the permission of the operation��s owner or manager.?

The legislation, which is now at the desk of Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear for his consideration, would also criminalize the distribution of such footage at food processing plants or CAFOs. The bill would make exceptions for utility workers and state and federal law enforcement and regulators.

Alex Cerussi, a senior state policy manager for the group, in a statement said ��whistleblowing is an important safeguard against unsanitary practices�� in the absence of robust government oversight of ��factory farms.��?

��Kentucky��s Senate Bill 16 is dangerous legislation blatantly designed to keep the public in the dark about cruelty and hazards in industrial animal agriculture,�� Cerussi said. ��This bill isn��t about protecting small Kentucky family farms; it��s about shielding massive corporations from accountability for the harms they cause to animals, workers, and consumers. The public deserves to know what happens in factory farms and food-processing facilities.��

The Lantern tried to contact JBS, the international meatpacking company that owns Pilgrim��s Pride, through its online media inquiries form to ask about the footage and whether workers are paid by the number of chickens caught, as Mercy For Animals alleges. The company has not responded. Messages sent to Jamie Guffey, the executive director of the industry group Kentucky Poultry Federation, asking about the standard protocol for handling chickens in poultry houses, were not immediately returned.?

Critics of the legislation have characterized SB 16 as the latest in a long line of so-called ��ag-gag�� bills enacted around the country to block whistleblowers from investigating the practices and conduct of industrial agriculture. A lobbyist with the Humane Society of the United States has also questioned whether SB 16 is constitutional on First Amendment grounds, and the environmental legal advocacy group Kentucky Resources Council has expressed concerns about the bill��s unintended legal consequences.

A federal appeals court struck down a similar law enacted in 2015 in North Carolina, a decision the U.S. Supreme Court last year let stand.

Legislative debate

Proponents of the legislation, including a lobbyist for Tyson Foods and the industry group Kentucky Poultry Federation, have argued SB 16 is needed to prevent harassment and endangerment of employees and livestock at these facilities. Schickel, the bill��s sponsor, had previously told the Lantern that ��agriculture by its nature can be distasteful to some�� and that ��these businesses have to protect their operations and their customers.��

SB 16 passed on largely party line votes through the GOP-dominated legislature during this legislative session. An email sent to a spokesperson for Beshear asking whether the governor planned to sign, veto or let SB 16 become law without his signature was not immediately returned.?

Democrats in the Kentucky House of Representatives unsuccessfully last week tried to add additions to the bill through floor amendments, one of which would have clarified employees of these facilities would be protected from ��retaliation or discrimination�� for making public ��any wrongdoing or documentation of noncompliance of any federal, state, or local law or regulation.��

Rep. Al Gentry, D-Louisville, said he had heard Tyson Foods�� lobbyist say it wasn��t the intent of SB 16 to interfere with whistleblower protections for employees, but he hoped his floor amendment would make that clear.?

��If we vote no on this amendment, to me I think it shows there is a lack of concern for this potential situation that could exist and for employees that find themselves in a difficult predicament,�� Gentry said.

Rep. Richard Heath, R-Mayfield, whose district includes the Pilgrim��s Pride meatpacking plant in Graves County, said he��d talked with the lobbyist for Tyson Foods along with the sponsor of SB 16 who considered the floor amendment ��unfriendly.��?

Gentry��s floor amendment was voted down 27-49.?

Heath on the House floor said the bill protected ��food processors�� including Pilgrim��s Pride in his district, along with protecting ��the farmers who raise livestock and poultry�� from an ��unauthorized intrusion.��?

��This is a private property protection bill for the folks who produce and process the food of our state and who employ thousands,�� Heath said.?

After his appointment to the Fish and Wildlife Commission was derailed, Tom Ballinger decided to challenge Sen. Stephen Meredith for his Senate seat. They are both Republicans. Ballinger, framed by deer antlers, was photographed on his farm in Butler County , March 24, 2024. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)

FRANKFORT �� Thomas Ballinger, an Army veteran and Butler County beekeeper, wanted to make sure veterans have a voice on the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission, so he threw his hat in the ring for one of the nine seats.

Anyone who holds a hunting or fishing license is eligible to vote at meetings in their commission district. Ballinger finished in his district��s top five top-vote getters, putting him on the list sent to Gov. Andy Beshear, who then recommended Ballinger to the Senate for confirmation.?

Then things took an unexpected turn.

In the final days of last year��s legislative session, Ballinger��s senator, Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, who was working to get Ballinger confirmed, texted him that the confirmation wasn��t going to happen �� but not because of anything Ballinger had done.?

Meredith said it was because Beshear, a Democrat, had vetoed a bill supported by the Republican-dominated Senate. The measure greenlighted the purchase by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources of 54,000 acres of conservation easements in Southeastern Kentucky for $3.8 million. The governor said the bill lacked adequate oversight and cited ��past procurement abuses�� by the KDFWR. Beshear also cited a 2018 special examination from then-Auditor Mike Harmon, a Republican, who called for a ��change in culture�� at the agency.

��I had this thing queued up and then the Governor vetoed SB 241 and pissed my leadership off. So, this is a pissing contest,�� Meredith said in a March 29, 2023 text message to Ballinger. ��They are trying to send him a message and I don��t know if I can turn the tide.��?

��Leadership will not yield,�� Meredith texted Ballinger the evening of March 29. ��It is not you. It��s the governor.��?

��If it��s any consolation, there are two others in the same boat,�� Meredith texted the next day, referring to two other Beshear appointees who weren��t confirmed, Mark Nethery and Jerry Ravenscraft.?

The Senate confirmed only one of Beshear��s four appointments to the commission last year, Gregory Cecil, who filled a vacancy. Commission members whose terms have expired may continue to serve for a year before their seat becomes vacant. Nonetheless, Senate inaction has resulted in three of the nine seats now being empty. A 2022 law mandated that gubernatorial appointees cannot begin serving until confirmed by the Senate.

Ballinger responded to Meredith, saying he felt misled and that the Senate should have been ��up front�� if it didn��t want to confirm the appointments. He said it was a ��sad day�� that sportsmen from more than a dozen counties he was set to represent wouldn��t get representation, and that it was ��sad that senators let the leadership dictate who represents their district and county.��?

Meredith responded: ��I can��t disagree with you.��?

That was the catalyst for Ballinger deciding to throw his hat into a bigger ring. He��s running for the state Senate, challenging Meredith in the Republican primary in May.

��He represented Senate leadership. He did not represent me,�� Ballinger said, referring to Meredith. ��The Senate has taken the sportsmen��s choice and the sportsmen��s voice away from them.��

The Senate��s refusal to confirm Ballinger and other Beshear nominees has raised concerns among some sportspeople that the commission is being hijacked by politics, particularly focused on protecting the KDFWR��s chief executive, Rich Storm.

While made up of volunteers, the Fish and Wildlife Commission has far-reaching responsibilities. It oversees the KDFWR��s budget, made up of tens of millions of dollars in hunting and fishing license fees, boat registration fees, and federal grants. It issues wildlife management regulations and hires (or fires) the department��s chief executive. State law directs the commission to keep a ��watchful eye�� over the department.?

The conflict over commission appointments recently flared into wider view when the state Senate narrowly voted to attach the KDFWR to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture headed by Republican Jonathan Shell, moving it outside the Beshear administration.?

Under Senate Bill 3, the agriculture commissioner, not the governor, would appoint commission members. The bill awaits consideration in the House.

Beshear has called it a ��power grab�� and criticized Senate Republicans for refusing to confirm his appointees to oversee KDFWR. ��It��s time for them to stop protecting leadership of what I think is the most corrupt part of state government,�� the governor told reporters on March 18.?

Sportspeople supported a 2010 law requiring Senate confirmation of a governor’s appointees to the Fish and Wildlife Commission. The law also limited commissioners to two four-year terms. Sportsmen say Senate confirmation worked as intended under Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat and the current governor��s father as the Senate rejected appointments opposed by sportsmen. Appointment confirmations under Republican Gov. Matt Bevin also sailed through the Senate.

But now some of the law��s supporters fear it��s been ��weaponized�� and twisted against the votes and voices of hunters, anglers and wildlife conservationists.?

��That bill was meant for the sportsmen to be able to reject appointees from the governor that we didn��t like,�� said Jim Strader, host of a radio show about hunting and fishing. ��It was supposed to be a safety net for the sportsmen, and they��ve turned it into a political football,�� Strader told the Lantern.

Rick Allen, a past president of the League of Kentucky Sportsmen, said that with three vacancies on the Fish and Wildlife Commission, there��s ��nobody to voice�� the opinions of hunters and anglers in those districts.?

��It��s supposed to be nine commission members making a decision, one for each of the wildlife districts, and if you’ve got holes there, I mean, people are not being represented properly,�� Allen said.?

Some Republican senators have bristled at the complaints. Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, recently said the Senate is not a ��rubber stamp�� for gubernatorial appointments that should have Senate vetting.

A focus on Rich Storm

The KDFWR, under commissioner Rich Storm, and the Beshear administration have clashed numerous times, including over the length of Storm��s contract to executive branch oversight of procurement and conservation easements.???

In addition to rejecting Beshear appointees perceived as unfriendly to Storm, the GOP Senate��s support for Storm and the Fish and Wildlife Commission also has included passing laws over Beshear vetoes that give the department independent control over procurements and conservation easements.

In one instance, Senate President Robert Stivers shot down Beshear��s appointment of Hardin County farmer and sportsman Brian Mackey in 2022, suggesting he was a disruptive force on the commission. Before Mackey was appointed, he used the

open records act to request text messages among commission members, lawmakers and Storm seeking information about Storm��s 2020 contract renewal.

Stivers told the Senate that Mackey had appeared on a segment of Strader��s radio show that ��insinuated a lot of bad things.�� Strader had criticized the commission��s chairman at the time for downplaying its violation of the open meetings law in a case unrelated to Mackey��s request.

��My understanding from my members on the commission, there is such disruption and consternation that I felt it was appropriate to put this up for a vote now,�� Stivers said. He recommended the Senate reject Mackey��s confirmation, which it did, 21-10.

A spokesperson for Stivers declined an interview request about his Senate floor comments and the Senate confirmation process for commission appointments.

Democratic Sen. Robin Webb defended Mackey at the time, saying he was ��willing to stand up and ask the questions and not just follow along in line like everybody else.�� Webb said that didn��t mean she doesn��t support Storm and the commission.

An analysis by the Lantern found that since Beshear took office, six of his 10 past appointments have not been confirmed by the Senate.

Beshear has five appointments awaiting confirmation in this year��s session, though they would be rendered moot if the House follows the Senate��s lead on moving KDFWR to the agriculture department and giving Shell the appointment power. SB 3 would let Shell make new appointments for commission seats awaiting confirmation this session.?

Among the minority of Beshear appointments to the commission that were confirmed, some appointees told the Lantern they weren��t asked about Rich Storm by senators or the governor��s office. But Storm��s job security did come up in 2023 during Senate committee consideration of Mark Nethery, a three-term past president of the Kentucky League of Sportsmen who had been nominated by sportspeople in his district then appointed by Beshear.

The morning before his committee confirmation hearing, Nethery got a call from a fellow sportsman who said lawmakers would question him about his thoughts on Storm.?

At the committee meeting, the chair, Sen. Brandon Smith, R-Hazard, asked Nethery if the governor��s office, as rumored, was asking him and other appointees whether they would remove Storm.

��The honest, unequivocal answer on that �� no,�� Nethery said in response. ��That conversation is not taking place with me, between the governor, between boards and commissions or anybody else for that matter.��?

Nethery and other sportsmen said it appeared during the committee hearing he was being wrongly blamed for critical social media posts that he did not make. A Senate resolution to confirm Nethery��s appointment never got a vote by the full Senate.?

Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, who sponsored the confirmation resolution for Nethery, told the Lantern she was ��super supportive�� of Nethery but ��there was some concern that the governor was appointing people to get rid of the commissioner.��?

��He would have been excellent on the commission,�� Raque Adams said. ��There was some politics going on with the way the governor put forward those nominees. It was just a big hurdle to get over, but I had full confidence in him.��

Meredith also asked Ballinger about Storm in March 2023 text messages, asking if he had ��issues�� with Storm and saying that his confirmation resolution was being handled by Sen. Brandon Smith, who was ��big friends�� with the KDFWR commissioner.?

Meredith told Ballinger he shouldn��t be worried about the confirmation ��unless the Governor has an expectation you will actively work to remove Commissioner Storm from his position.��

��Commissioner Storm is strongly supported by our Republican Caucus; including Senator Smith,�� Meredith texted. ��Governor Beshear has been trying to remove the Commissioner from office since his election and take personal control of Fish and Wildlife so he can sweep funds from Fish and Wildlife for his personal projects.��?

Meredith in a Lantern interview said he was glad in retrospect Ballinger wasn��t confirmed. He revised what he had told Ballinger about Beshear��s veto being the primary reason he wasn��t confirmed. He told the Lantern Ballinger��s antagonistic social media posts �� saying he was going to ��straighten out�� the KDFWR ��? were the primary reason, something Ballinger said he only posted after he learned he wasn��t going to be confirmed.?

In a May 2023 email to Jimmy Cantrell �� a past president of the League of Kentucky Sportsmen, a field director for the Sportsmen��s Alliance and founder of the Appalachian Outdoorsmen Association �� Meredith was still in tune with what he had told Ballinger. He hated ��the political games,�� he told Cantrell, and had been ��outright lied to�� about Ballinger��s confirmation.?

Meredith in his email to Cantrell traced Senate leadership��s refusal to confirm Beshear appointees to Beshear��s turning over the entire Kentucky Board of Education, which put in a new state commissioner of education, as soon as he became governor.?

��Once he set that precedent, leadership is not going to give him an inch of latitude. I don��t offer it as an excuse as there is no excuse,�� Meredith said.?

Party politics

The commission, by state law, is supposed to be bipartisan with ��not more than five of the same political party�� sitting on the commission. Concerned sportsmen say the KDFWR��s mission should be apolitical, focused on preserving and managing wildlife throughout Kentucky.?

But the partisan makeup of the board has come under scrutiny in the recent past. Beshear unsuccessfully tried to remove two Bevin appointees, arguing the commission was stacked with Republicans. At least one senator has also suggested that one��s political party allegiance did matter in commission appointment confirmations.?

Mackey told the Lantern he changed his party registration from Republican to Democrat before running for the commission to increase his chances of an appointment, given that the commission is required to have a balanced partisan makeup and that Beshear was a Democrat.?

Mackey, whose confirmation was supported by sportsmen��s groups, told the Lantern he originally ran for the commission because he cared deeply about the department��s welfare and its ��good work,�� having decades of knowledge about the department and friends working there.

Mackey said Matt Osborne, the executive director of boards and commissions in the governor��s office, didn��t ask him about Rich Storm when he got interviewed for the appointment.?

��I felt like there were some issues that needed to be dealt with, you know, controversy, conflicts, potential corruption,�� Mackey said, mentioning he had concerns about how Storm was originally hired. ��That’s why I thought I’d be a good commissioner.��?

The Fish and Wildlife Commission controversially hired Storm as commissioner in 2019, when he was serving as chair of the commission, after the commission had already interviewed eight candidates for the top post, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. Storm asked to be considered for the job after the commission named three finalists and recused himself as chair. Storm wasn��t on the search committee seeking a commissioner, according to the department��s human resources director at the time.?

Mackey said he didn��t agree with Beshear on much of his policies when he was appointed and spoke out against the governor for an attempted sweep of KDFWR funds in 2020, something a governor��s spokesperson had denied at the time. Republicans have used that incident as a reason for pushing SB 3, the bill giving appointment power to the GOP agriculture commissioner.

Sen. Phillip Wheeler, R-Pikeville, had suspicions about Mackey��s party loyalty nonetheless.?

In a Feb. 2022 Facebook message to Jimmy Cantrell, Wheeler said the Republican Senate caucus had heard Mackey was a ��Democratic operative�� and that ��sportsmen need (to be) a bit more careful about who they are sending over for the Governor to pick from.��?

Also, Wheeler said another Beshear appointee, Robert Lear, who wasn��t confirmed, was ��supposed to be a Republican but was actually a closet Democrat whose wife had called Beshear a ��sex symbol.����?

That appears to be a reference to a Wall Street Journal article in 2020 headlined ��New Cocktail Hour: Your Governor��s Daily Coronavirus Briefing. Live state updates on the pandemic become must-see TV and make unlikely stars of local officials.�� The article began with an anecdote of Lear��s wife pouring a glass of wine for her ��date�� with Beshear, referring to his daily televised appearances during the pandemic.

The article said Beshear had been called a sex symbol, though that description was not attributed to Lear or his wife.?

Lear in an interview said he was disappointed he wasn��t confirmed but declined to speculate on the reasons.

Wheeler walked away from a Lantern reporter when asked about the Facebook message and his concerns about Lear��s wife��s thoughts on Beshear.?

A Valentine meet and greet benefit with Ethan in 2022 sold out. (Kentucky Humane Society)

FRANKFORT �� Celebrity dog Ethan was in the Kentucky Capitol Tuesday to see senators pass a bill named after him, which would allow a person to be charged with a felony the first time they torture a dog or cat.?

House Bill 258 is now nearly law, having passed the Senate 31-5 with one member passing. Named Ethan��s Law, it now heads to Gov. Andy Beshear��s desk for a signature or veto.?

Ethan, who won hearts over as he recovered from severe neglect in 2021, lent his face to the bill and came several times to Frankfort to testify in favor of it.?

The bill defines torture as the ��intentional infliction of or subjection to extreme physical pain or serious injury or death to a dog or cat, motivated by intent or wanton disregard that causes, increases, or prolongs the pain or suffering of the dog or cat, including serious physical injury or infirmity.��?

Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, said Ethan��s Law ��puts my cultural heritage and relationship with my dogs at risk.��?

Further, she said the bill wasn��t needed.?

��Kentucky, contrary to popular extremist rhetoric, has animal abuse laws,�� Webb, who voted against the bill, said. And ��any good prosecutor�� can bring a case based on that current law, she said.?

Sen. Adrienne Southworth, R-Lawrenceburg, agreed.?

��I have not seen a single dog story �� that are not already protected by the current law,�� she said.?

Louisville Republican and Majority Caucus Chair Sen. Julie Raque Adams, who brought the House bill to the Senate floor, said would protect good pet owners, hunters, farmers, ��respectable breeders�� and trainers.?

She also cited research showing people who abuse animals are likely to go on and harm people.?

��Abusers have the propensity to escalate and to continue their criminal behavior,�� Raque Adams said. ��And with no deterrent or accountability, most will do so.��

Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown (LRC Public Information)

FRANKFORT ��?Senate Republican Floor Leader Damon Thayer��s late-breaking plan to form a new government corporation to oversee horse racing and charitable gaming is on the move in the Kentucky General Assembly.?

With only a handful of days left to pass bills, Senate Bill 299, which began as a ��shell�� bill, was heard in a joint meeting of the Senate and House economic development committees Tuesday morning and won Senate approval in a 26-11 floor vote in the afternoon.?

The bill would create the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation to replace the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and Department of Charitable Gaming �� both of which are currently under the Public Protection Cabinet.?

According to the committee substitute version of the bill, the corporation would oversee areas like live horse racing and sports wagering, as well as charitable gaming after July 2025.?

The Horse Racing Commission would be abolished in July 2024 and its employees and responsibilities would be transferred to the corporation. The charitable gaming department would be abolished the following summer and its employees and responsibilities would move to the corporation.?

Board members of the corporation would be appointed by the governor and subject to Senate confirmation. Current board members of the commission and department would serve two-year terms on the corporation.

Thayer, of Georgetown, is the primary sponsor and has deep ties to the horse racing industry. He appeared in the committee alongside Republican House Speaker David Osborne, of Prospect.?

��I think this would bring increased scrutiny, integrity and transparency to all legal forms of gaming in Kentucky,�� he said.?

Kentucky is the site of several renowned horse races, including the Kentucky Derby. Last year, sports betting was legalized in Kentucky.?

Thayer previously filed a floor amendment to another Senate bill that would move the Horse Racing Commission to the Department of Agriculture. That bill proposes to move the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife to agriculture.

Before it became a sweeping change to oversee horse racing and gaming in Kentucky Tuesday, Senate Bill 299 was a shell bill, apparently minor legislation that lawmakers use to introduce major legislation well after the deadline for filing bills. The new version of the bill is more than 280 pages.?

The Senate Economic Development, Tourism and Labor Committee approved the bill Tuesday, while members of the House Economic Development and Workforce Investment Committee only discussed the bill Tuesday.?

The Senate almost took up Thayer��s bill shortly after it began debate Thursday afternoon. However, some senators objected that they still did not have the committee substitute on their computers. After it was uploaded, the Senate moved to other bills to give senators time to read over it before debating.

Democratic Caucus Chair Reggie Thomas, of Lexington, criticized? how the bill moved ahead of the debate, but supported the legislation.?

��The lack of transparency, the lack of sunshine, is something that should not be applauded,�� he said.?

Thomas�� fellow Democratic senators voted against the bill, along with five Republicans. Several opponents said they had been receiving concerned questions from charitable game sponsors that they could not answer.

After the Senate adjourned, Thayer said his intent to make changes in the Racing Commission had been public since he filed his original floor amendment, although the measure introduced Tuesday is far wider in scope than the earlier amendment.

When asked if he would ever like to serve as a board member for the new corporation, Thayer said such an appointment is not something he is considering at the moment. He previously announced he will not seek reelection, so this is his last legislative session.?

��I hadn��t even thought about it. I��m quite certain I wouldn��t get an appointment by this governor,�� Thayer said, referring to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.?

Thayer said he may run for another political office, such as governor, in the future. He also noted that he won��t be able to use his power? as a Senate leader to influence any appointments to the new board because he will no longer be in the legislature.

A national advocacy group says a bill approved by the Kentucky legislature will criminalize investigations of industrial agriculture abuses. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

After rejecting protections for whistleblowers and accidental violations, the House on Tuesday approved Senate Bill 16 restricting drone photography of food production plants and animal feeding operations.

Democratic Rep. Al Gentry of Louisville offered an amendment protecting whistleblowers who film violations of safety or health laws.?

Overbroad bill risks turning food plant workers, government inspectors, neighbors into criminals

Rep. Chad Aull, D-Lexington, offered an amendment to clarify that unintentionally leaving on a phone camera or recorder would not constitute a violation.

Both amendments were defeated on party line votes after Rep. Richard Heath, R-Mayfield, told his colleagues that the bill��s sponsor and the lobbyist for Tyson Foods considered both proposals unfriendly amendments. Sen. John Schickel, R- Union, is the bill��s sponsor.

The House voted 72-25 in favor of the measure sought by the poultry industry.

Opponents have warned that imprecise language in what they call an ��ag-gag�� bill could be used to punish citizens and even government inspectors trying to document hazardous conditions, including pollution and food safety violations.?

The bill will now go to Gov. Andy Beshear.

Gov. Andy Beshear speaks to reporters in Louisville before addressing a luncheon hosted by Greater Louisville, Inc. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)

LOUISVILLE �� Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear on Monday called a Republican-backed bill that would move the state��s wildlife management agency from his administration to the agriculture department an unconstitutional ��power grab.��?

Beshear also called out Senate Republicans for refusing to confirm his appointees to the Fish and Wildlife Commission.?

��It’s time for them to stop protecting leadership of what I think is the most corrupt part of state government,�� the governor told reporters before speaking at a luncheon in Louisville.

Beshear said he chooses his appointees for Fish and Wildlife commissioners from a pool of five candidates nominated by sportspeople who vote at nine district meetings.

Kentucky hunters, anglers decry proposal to put Fish and Wildlife under agriculture department

The Senate ��has refused to confirm them over and over,�� Beshear said.

The nine-member commission has three vacancies.

Controversy surrounded the appointment of Rich Storm as commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDRFW). Then-Attorney General Daniel Cameron issued an opinion in 2021 saying the commission had violated the open meetings law when hiring Storm. A group of sportspeople sued Fish and Wildlife for access to texts and emails related to Storm��s contract renewal. The case is awaiting a state Supreme Court ruling.

In a narrow Friday vote, the Senate passed Senate Bill 3, which would move the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources from the tourism cabinet, which is part of Beshear��s administration, to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, which is overseen by elected Republican Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell.??

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission would be moved from the Public Protection Cabinet to the agriculture department, under a floor amendment added to the bill by Senate Republican Floor Leader Damon Thayer, of Georgetown.

The bill is awaiting House action.

Speaking with reporters on Monday ahead of a Capitol Connection luncheon hosted by Greater Louisville, Inc., Beshear chalked up the move to partisan politics. He pointed to a recent Court of Appeals decision that found a law giving the majority of the Kentucky State Fair Board appointments to the agriculture commissioner instead of the governor was unconstitutional. The bill is part of a legislative trend to limit gubernatorial authority.?

��I mean, knock it off, all right? People don’t want this constant back and forth. I’m trying to serve all the people of Kentucky,�� Beshear said. ��This is simply because I’m a Democrat and they’re Republicans, and that’s not how we should govern.��?

In his remarks to the crowd, which included local business leaders, the governor renewed his call for more public education funding, universal pre-kindergarten and economic development.

He also voiced support for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which are under fire from the Republican-controlled legislature.?

��It’s got to stop,�� Beshear said. ��It’s tearing our country apart, the type of anger and hate politics we see out there. The need to create a boogeyman every session which is normally a three-letter acronym they try to turn into a four-letter word.��

What is Beshear reviewing??

Last week, the House and Senate moved several GOP priority bills, including an omnibus crime bill that won approval in the House and Senate, House Bill 5. Beshear told reporters while he hasn��t reviewed the latest version of the bill, he is supportive of parts of the legislation, such as a carjacking statute, but is concerned about other provisions, such as how creating the crime of illegal street camping could affect people who are homeless.?

��I��m going to look very carefully over it when we get it,�� Beshear said. ��At the end of the day, we want to make sure that our communities are truly safer based on any legislation we pass.��

Beshear also raised concerns about an increase in corrections costs if HB 5 becomes law.? According to an analysis by progressive think tank the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, the legislation would cost more than $1 billion over the next decade because of an increase in incarceration expenses.?

��If they’re going to ask the executive branch to house more inmates, they’re going to need to provide the funding to do it,�� the governor said.?

As Beshear spoke in Louisville, members of Senate and House leadership met in a conference committee at the Capitol to reconcile differences between their proposed budgets. The governor said he was more supportive of the Senate��s version, as it restores ��necessary dollars to Medicaid and a number of other programs.�� Some of the things he had proposed in his budget, like dollars to renovate career and technical education facilities in high schools, were included in the Senate budget.?

Beshear did however lament what he sees as inadequate funding for public education needs the the House and Senate budgets.?

��We cannot have a state budget unless it includes raises for our public school educators and at least strongly considers universal pre-K,�� he said.?

Ensuring universal pre-K is essential to addressing the need for child care, the governor said. Beshear has proposed spending $141 million over the next two years to stabilize the child care industry in his budget. He also asked the state to spend $172 million to begin funding universal preschool for Kentucky four-year-olds, though child care advocates worried his plan could cannibalize the child care industry since most providers don’t start making money on students until they reach three and four years old.?

The Senate did not propose enough to stabilize the industry this year as COVID-era federal dollars dry up, child care advocates have said.

Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Danny Carroll, of Benton, proposed $300 million on child care, including a $66 million annual investment into the Child Care Assistance Program, which helps families pay for expensive child care tuition.

The General Assembly has eight days left in its current 60-day session. The House and Senate will reconvene Thursday, but committees will meet at the Capitol before then. Lawmakers will recess for the 10-day veto period starting next Friday, March 29.?

The two-term governor��s vetoes have been futile because the Republican supermajority in the General Assembly can easily override them. For the most part, they do highlight differences in policy priorities between Democrats and Republicans. So far, Beshear has issued one veto against a bill that preempts local bans on housing discrimination based on the renter��s source of income. The General Assembly already overrode it.?

Constitutional amendment

One piece of legislation that Beshear will not be able to veto or sign is a bill that puts a constitutional amendment on the ballot to allow the General Assembly the ability to give public dollars to nonpublic schools. The House and Senate approved the amendment last week, paving the way for a November election. Constitutional amendments are decided by Kentucky voters and not sent to the governor.?

Beshear said he is ��fully and entirely�� opposed to the constitutional amendment. He said the General Assembly has been underfunding public schools for decades.?

��Basically they starve our public schools and the resources they need, and then argue our public schools aren’t succeeding,�� Beshear said. ��Well, if you want to fix public schools, provide them the money that will help with that fix.��?

Kentucky Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer (LRC Public Information)

FRANKFORT �� The GOP-dominated Senate narrowly advanced a controversial change for Kentucky��s wildlife management agency Friday while also voting to administratively attach the racing commission to the state agriculture department as well.?

Sportsmen��s and wildlife conservation groups have strongly opposed the proposal, and lawmakers echoed their concerns during Friday��s debate.?

Senate Bill 3, primarily sponsored by Sen. Jason Howell, R-Murray, was approved 20-16, with nine Republicans joining the minority of Democrats in opposition. The bill is now under the Kentucky House of Representatives�� consideration.

SB 3 would move the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) from the tourism cabinet, a part of Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear��s administration, and attach it to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture overseen by Republican Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell, a former House leader elected to the statewide position last November.?

The bill would also end Beshear��s power to appoint members to the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission, the governing board for the KDFWR, and give the power to Shell.?

In addition, Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, successfully sponsored a floor amendment that would also move the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission from the Public Protection Cabinet and attach it to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. Thayer��s amendment also adds a requirement for Senate confirmation of gubernatorial appointments to the commission that regulates racing in Kentucky.

On the Senate floor, Howell, chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, reiterated his reasoning for the bill, acknowledging opposition from hunters and anglers that agriculture interests are antithetical to wildlife management��s mission and interests. Sportsmen testified in committee that Kentucky Farm Bureau, a powerful lobbying presence in the state, advocates for reducing wildlife as a policy.

��While there is some grounds for natural friction between the two, I see a natural alignment coming between the two agencies,�� Howell said. ��Shell has been out in front pushing rural economic development as part of his platform.��?

Howell again referenced past conflicts between the KDFWR and Beshear��s administration as a driving reason to remove KDFWR from the state executive branch.

��Stability is our main goal,�� Howell said, mentioning that lawmakers were tired of the ��trauma�� with past governors ��attacking Fish and Wildlife operational independence.��?

Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, a long-time advocate for the KDFWR who strongly opposes the bill, withdrew her floor amendments, saying offering them would most likely be an ��exercise in futility.�� She said she hopes the amendments would give the House of Representatives ideas for improving the bill.

One of her floor amendments would have struck the language of SB 3 and instead created a working group on how the KDFWR could ��maintain autonomy�� in its operations ��while retaining the oversight and accountability required of a public agency charged with the expenditure of public funds.��?

Webb lambasted the bill while waving an orange National Assembly of Sportsmen��s Caucuses hat, arguing agriculture interests don��t always follow the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, a standard-bearing system of policies and laws designed to safeguard wildlife through ��sound science and active management.��?

��We talk about making money? That is a secondary benefit of management. Fish and Wildlife is not about making money or economic development. It��s about preservation and opportunity for cultural heritage,�� Webb said.?

Webb also said no other state wildlife management agency is coupled to their state agriculture agency, something that would make Kentucky a ��laughing stock�� if implemented.?

John Culclasure, a director with the Congressional Sportsmen��s Foundation, told the Lantern he wasn��t aware of any state agriculture agency attached to a state wildlife management agency, nor was he aware of any state that allows a state agriculture official to have power over the entire membership of a wildlife management agency board.?

Other Republicans who voted for the bill didn��t see a problem with coupling the two agencies. Sen. Shelley Funke Frommeyer, R-Alexandria, said? her family has land used for both farming and hunting creating ��a great marriage�� between the two land uses.?

Sen. Adrienne Southworth, R-Lawrenceburg, in voting against the bill pushed back on the idea that the executive branch was solely causing issues with the KDFWR, mentioning that her constituents have asked her in recent years to support the Senate confirmation of appointments to the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission, the governing board for the KDFWR.?

The nine-member commission represents hunters and anglers across Kentucky, and sportspeople nominate commissioners through a direct vote at a scheduled meeting. A list of the top five vote-getters from that meeting are then sent to the governor, who can then appoint a member to the commission or reject the list, restarting the nomination process. But any appointments made by the governor must be confirmed by the Kentucky Senate.?

In committee testimony against SB 3, Edwin Nighbert, the president of the League of Kentucky Sportsmen, said sportsmen had nominated ��very good people�� for the commission, only for the Senate confirmation process to be ��weaponized�� against sportsmen.?

According to a Lantern analysis of appointments made to the commission over the course of Beshear��s tenure, the Senate has failed to confirm a majority of his appointments. One of Beshear��s past commission appointments was voted down on the Senate floor.?

Southworth said that during her earlier work in the state executive branch she worked to solve ��disconnected issues�� between agencies. She said in this case, the ��disconnect�� with the Fish and Wildlife Commission was being created by the Senate itself.?

��My recollection is constituents asking me the last multiple years to please support this or that confirmation, and it��s this body �� and I��d like to lay it right on our feet �� this body is the one that��s created the disconnect,�� Southworth said.

One of the floor amendments that Webb withdrew would have required the governor to pick a new appointment for a Fish and Wildlife Commission seat if the Senate didn��t act to confirm the appointment by Feb. 15 during a legislative session.?

Five appointments by Beshear are still awaiting confirmation by the Senate this session; three of his nominees would fill current vacancies on the Fish and Wildlife Commission.?

When SB 3 passed the Senate Agriculture Committee earlier this week, Howell had said the KDFWR Commissioner Rich Storm �� who runs the daily operations of the department and is hired by the Fish and Wildlife Commission �� had supported the bill.?

In a Lantern interview at the state Capitol complex on Thursday, Storm told the Lantern the department didn��t have a position on the bill but believed the KDFWR could still operate independently while attached to the Department of Agriculture. Storm said the KDFWR had been attached to a number of agencies over the course of its history.

��As long as we have that independency, if it��s the General Assembly’s desire we��ll comply with whatever that may be,�� Storm said.?

Under SB 3, the KDFWR would be attached to the Department of Agriculture only for ��limited functions and purposes expressly requested�� by KDFWR to be performed by the Department of Agriculture.?

Storm, who also serves as a director for the Nicholas County Farm Bureau, said there have always ��been people with ag interest�� serving on the Fish and Wildlife Commission.

��We’ve had the requirement that they have the fishing and hunting license experience,�� Storm said, referencing state requirements to serve on the commission. ��I think that’s a protective mechanism.��

In an interview with the Lantern, Nighbert, the president of the League of Kentucky Sportsmen, agreed that past members of the Fish and Wildlife Commission have had interests in farming.

But the concern among sportsmen, he said, is that an agriculture commissioner could choose nominees more heavily invested in agriculture, thereby conflicting with the interests and mission of wildlife conservation and management.?

��That’s the fear of giving all these appointments to the ag commissioner is that they will put full agricultural guys on there,�� Nighbert said.

Rep. Susan Witten, R-Louisville, sponsored a bill increasing the penalty for a first offense of torturing a dog or cat. (LRC Public Information)

FRANKFORT �� The Kentucky Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a bill Thursday that would make it a Class D felony to torture a dog or cat on the first offense?

Doing so is already a felony on subsequent offenses, according to the sponsor, Rep. Susan Witten, R-Louisville.?

She spoke alongside Kentucky Humane Society celebrity rescue Ethan, who lay on a blanket on the floor and chewed a rawhide during the discussion. House Bill 258, which passed the committee 8-2, is named Ethan��s Law in honor of the canine who won hearts over as he recovered from severe neglect in 2021. Ethan��s human, Jeff Callaway, was also present but did not testify Thursday.?

Torture is defined in the bill as ��intentional infliction of or subjection to extreme physical pain or serious injury or death to a dog or cat, motivated by intent or wanton disregard that causes, increases, or prolongs the pain or suffering of the dog or cat, including serious physical injury or infirmity.��?

Examples of torture include the animal being sealed in a plastic bag, physically restrained with tape or ropes and abandoned with no arrangements made for care and more.?

��Kentucky needs to address the issue of torture pertaining to dogs and cats for the sake of all good pet owners and their pets,�� Witten told lawmakers.?

Sen. President Robert Stivers asked about the bill��s impact on rural communities who don��t have easy access to a veterinarian.?

��I can see a circumstance �� my dog runs out in the road,�� Stivers, who later voted in favor of the bill, said. ��I don’t have a veterinarian real close to me. (It) gets hit. I bring it in, I manually restrain it. It’s going to die and I do the necessary things.��?

In this hypothetical scenario, Stivers said, ��I do the necessary things to put it out of its misery. Well, I have manually restrained the dog and done something that is going to create serious physical injury but it is not my intent in any way to torture or prolong? illness of this dog. Actually, it is the converse of that.��?

Witten said such a situation is not considered torture under her bill.?

��That is why intent is so important and wanton disregard is so important in this bill,�� she said. ��Those are the qualifiers that have to be met to qualify for torture. So in that instance, that would not be considered torture.��?

Sen. Matthew Deneen, R-Elizabethtown, asked if farmers who keep hunting dogs ��in kennels or they keep a dog, maybe, tied up to a tree in the backyard by the chicken coop�� could be criminally charged under the bill. He voted in favor of the bill.?

��Locked in a cage does not constitute torture,�� Witten replied. ��It is when you are locked in a cage, intentionally inflicting pain by starving, by lack of food. So, those good farmers �� certainly would not be in the scope of this bill.��??

HB258 can go to the Senate floor for consideration now. Should it pass there, it can head to Gov. Andy Beshear��s desk for a signature or veto.?

Edwin Nighbert (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer)

FRANKFORT ��Wildlife conservation and sportsmen groups on Tuesday voiced strong opposition to a bill that would put wildlife management under the purview of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and its Republican commissioner.?

Senate Bill 3, sponsored by Sen. Jason Howell, R-Murray, would move the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) from the tourism cabinet, overseen by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, and attach it to the agriculture department overseen by Republican Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell, a former House leader who was elected to the statewide post last November.?

The bill also would transfer authority for appointing Fish and Wildlife Commission members from the governor to the agriculture commissioner.

Howell told the Senate Agriculture Committee, which he chairs, that the bill is needed because of years-long conflicts between Beshear��s administration and the KDFWR. He said Beshear had tried to sweep funding from KDFWR �� which is primarily funded through revenue generated by fishing and hunting license fees and doesn��t receive General Fund monies? �� in 2020, something a Beshear spokesperson had denied at the time.?

The committee passed the bill on a near party line vote with one Republican joining Democrats in opposition.?

��There’s been a problem back and forth with Fish and Wildlife and various governors for a long time,�� Howell said. ��There’s going to be inherent conflicts with any governor that we have for things that they want to do, or not do, and what Fish and Wildlife��s true mission is.��

Howell said he saw a lot of ��synergies�� from coupling wildlife management with agriculture, focusing on rural economic development. He said he had spoken to Shell and KDFWR Commissioner Rich Storm, who oversees the daily operations of the department, and that both were in favor of the bill.?

But a number of Kentucky organizations representing hunters, fishers and wildlife conservationists thought much differently. Several representatives of those groups were present in the committee room wearing orange hunter vests.

Larry Richards, the legislative affairs committee chairman for the Kentuckiana Chapter of Safari Club International, said the ��political outcome�� of this bill would be the ��immediate overhaul of this commission favoring agriculture interests.��?

��The department of ag is diametrically anathema to the Fish and Wildlife department, to the biologists and the staff that work at that department, so much so as to be antithetical to the proven, science-based methodologies that have been used by the department for years,�� Richards said. ��This mix is oil and water, folks.��?

Richards pointed out that the Kentucky Farm Bureau, a powerful lobbying presence in the state, continues to advocate for reduced wildlife populations to lessen impacts on crops and livestock.?

Richards also criticized Howell over what he described as lack of transparency surrounding SB 3, saying sportsmen��s groups were not contacted at all before the bill was filed. He noted that SB 3 was filed on the very last day for filing bills in the Kentucky Senate �� leaving? stakeholders less time to respond than if the bill had been filed earlier in the session which began in January.?

No representatives from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture or the KDFWR spoke at the committee meeting. A call to a Kentucky Department of Agriculture spokesperson was not returned.?

Lisa Jackson, a KDFWR spokesperson, in a statement said Storm wanted a change in SB 3 to maintain ��the agency��s operational independence.��

��Commissioner Storm appreciates any opportunities to engage in conversations with bill sponsors and works to maintain positive relationships with all members of the Legislative and Executive branches,�� Jackson said in her statement.?

KDFWR is administratively attached to the state executive branch through the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet. But the department does manage much of its duties independently, including issuing and enforcing a number of hunting and fishing regulations; managing wildlife through maintaining a mussel nursery and controlling a number of wildlife management areas; and maintaining a mussel nursery; and overseeing hunting seasons for deer, elk, turkey, bears and other wildlife.?

SB 3 would also strip the power of the governor to appoint commissioners to the nine-member Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission, a volunteer board of hunters and anglers who oversee the department and tens of millions of dollars of revenue received from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses.?

��This is going to set our agency back 40 years, at a minimum, and we’re going to be the laughingstock of the nation. It means a lot to me, this agency does, and it’s bigger than any commissioner, it’s bigger than any political party.�� – Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson

The commission is made up of representatives of nine districts representing hunters and anglers around the state, and these sportspeople nominate a commissioner through a vote at a meeting in their district. A list of the top five vote-getters from that meeting are then sent to the governor, who can then appoint a member to the commission or reject the list, restarting the nomination process. Any appointments made by the governor must be confirmed by the Kentucky Senate.

SB 3 would instead give Republican Agriculture Commissioner Shell the power to choose from the nomination lists, including nominating candidates for five Fish and Wildlife Commission appointments made by Beshear that are currently awaiting Kentucky Senate confirmation. Three of those pending appointments are to fill current vacancies on the Fish and Wildlife Commission.?

Edwin Nighbert, the president of the League of Kentucky Sportsmen representing thousands of hunters across the state, said the voices of sportsmen in the Fish and Wildlife Commission appointment and confirmation process had been ��slowly eroded.��?

��We have sent up names to the governor. The governor sends the Senate five nominees,�� Nighbert said, referring to the five Fish and Wildlife Commission appointments made by the governor awaiting Senate confirmation this legislative session. ��We expect those nominees to be confirmed as long as they are vetted, and the governor has vetted them.��?

��You’re interrupting the process in my opinion right now, and quite frankly, have been. We have sent up very, very good people in the past for that commission, and the Senate has weaponized their confirmation process against the sportsmen,�� Nighbert said.?

The Kentucky Senate, which the GOP took control of in 2000, has had the power to confirm the governor��s appointments to the commission since the legislature passed a 2010 law, which also implemented term limits for members of the Fish and Wildlife Commission.?

The majority of Beshear��s appointments to the commission haven��t been confirmed, according to an analysis of past appointments and confirmations by the Lantern. One of the appointments was voted down on the Senate floor.?

Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, responded to the criticism from sportsmen by saying the Kentucky Senate was not a ��rubber stamp�� for the governor��s nominees to the commission.?

��We have the right to not confirm or to confirm. We have not confirmed in the past, and trust me when I tell you that possibility is out there again this session,�� Thayer said. ��Please, don’t ever come up here and just say that we should confirm all five appointees.��

Thayer said the five appointees this session awaiting confirmation would be vetted by the Senate staff before a decision is made on whether to confirm them.?

Sen. Jared Carpenter, R-Berea, also took issue with sportsmens�� assertions that agriculture interests can��t coincide with wildlife management interests.?

��I don’t think that there’s any way that you can say that farmers are wanting to decimate a population of wildlife,�� Carpenter said. ��You shake your head all you want, but I just don’t feel like that’s the truth.��?

James Hatchett, a spokesperson for Gov. Andy Beshear, in a statement said the Senate was ��thwarting the legal process and disrespecting the sportsmen and women�� and their elections by not confirming the appointments sent by the governor.?

��These actions have resulted in nearly all the major organizations representing sportsmen and women opposing the current bill and opposing the current leadership of Fish and Wildlife,�� Hatchett said.?

Hatchett didn��t address Howell��s reference to a past budget sweep, saying the governor ��has no interest in and would not move any fish and wildlife funds.��

Before the bill passed out of committee, Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, gave emotional testimony against the bill, referencing her father��s long-time role serving on the Fish and Wildlife Commission.?

��I��ve lost sleep over this,�� Webb said, saying she was moved ��to tears because of the priority of the bill number.��

Webb said the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, a system of policies and laws designed to safeguard wildlife through ��sound science and active management,�� embraces priorities that are distinctly different from those of agricultural interests. She said she was involved in an effort to kill a similar bill in the past.?

��This is going to set our agency back 40 years, at a minimum, and we’re going to be the laughingstock of the nation,�� Webb said. ��It means a lot to me, this agency does, and it’s bigger than any commissioner, it’s bigger than any political party.��

Webb said she would try to be the ��voice of those species�� that the state manages for the benefit of wildlife, hunters and anglers.?

American bison at Big Bone Lick State Historic Site. (Photo from Kentucky State Parks)

The Kentucky Department of Parks is accepting bids for two bison at Big Bone Lick State Historic Site.

The one-year-old bulls are in excellent health.

They are being sold in a two separate lots.

Bids are being accepted now until March 14. For questions or to make an appointment to see the bison, contact Claire Kolkmeyer at 859-384-3522 or email [email protected].

Bids should include your name, address and daytime telephone number. A $100 deposit is required with all bids (check or money order); the deposit will be returned to all non-winning bidders. Checks should be made out to Big Bone Lick State Historic Site.

Bids should be sent to:

Big Bone Lick State Historic Site
Bison Sealed Bid
Attn: Greta Gay-Park Manager
3380 Beaver Road
Union, Ky. 41091

This column is republished from the Northern Kentucky Tribune, a nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism.

A Valentine meet and greet benefit with Ethan in 2022 sold out. (Kentucky Humane Society)

The Kentucky House kicked off the week by passing a bill that would make it a Class D felony to torture a dog or cat.

House Bill 258 passed the chamber 80-9. A similar bill passed a few hurdles in the 2023 session but did not make it into law.?

In late February, celebrity rescue dog Ethan came to Frankfort with his human to testify in favor of the bill, which is named after him.?

Ethan��s Law would let people who intentionally torture dogs or pets be charged with a felony on their first offense. Veterinarian recommended euthanasia, and body modifications like ear cropping are not considered torture in this bill.?

Torture is defined in the bill as ��intentional infliction of or subjection to extreme physical pain or serious injury or death to a dog or cat, motivated by intent or wanton disregard that causes, increases, or prolongs the pain or suffering of the dog or cat, including serious physical injury or infirmity.��?

Examples of torture include the animal being sealed in a plastic bag, physically restrained with tape or ropes and abandoned with no arrangements made for care and more.?

The bill can now head to the Senate side for consideration.?

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife says it ��supports allowing bona fide resident owners of farmlands to hunt and fish on their own property.�� (KDFWR photo)

FRANKFORT �� One of the first bills to become law in this year��s legislative session clarifies that Kentuckians who own farms of five acres or smaller can fish or hunt on their own property without purchasing a hunting or fishing license.?

Senate Bill 5, sponsored by Sen. Gex Williams, R-Verona, signed into law Thursday by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, removed a provision that was added into legislation passed last year by the GOP-controlled legislature. That law empowered the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to acquire perpetual conservation easements for 54,000 acres of land in Southeastern Kentucky.?

Tucked away in the bill was another provision that touched off a backlash. It required Kentuckians who owned farmlands of five acres or smaller to purchase licenses from the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to hunt or fish on their own land.?

The department last year said the rule was needed to prevent ��abuse�� of the exemption in Kentucky law allowing owners of farmlands to hunt or fish on their own property without the need of a license. The department at the time said it would specifically curtail abuse ��by some claiming to harvest game animals on extremely small tracts of land that they own.��

SB 5 undos the ��five-acre�� farmland rule and restores the previous exemption.

Sen. Robin Webb, who sponsored last year��s bill, defended the five-acre rule last month, telling the Senate it was a response to ��telecheck fraud�� �� essentially hunters falsely saying they harvested an animal on their farmland to avoid having to buy a license.?

��It depreciates the department��s bottom line by that individual not buying a license and committing fraud,�� Webb had said in January. ��There��s been a lot of things since we��ve filed this bill that are just misinterpretation.��?

Lisa Jackson, a Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources spokesperson, in a statement on SB 5 being signed into law said the department ��supports allowing bona fide resident owners of farmlands to hunt and fish on their own property.��

A Valentine meet and greet benefit with Ethan in 2022 sold out. (Kentucky Humane Society)

FRANKFORT �� In early 2021, Ethan the dog became a Louisville and Kentucky celebrity as the city rallied behind his recovery from horrific neglect.

Ethan��s human, Jeff Callaway, told lawmakers Wednesday that after being sold as a puppy, he was traded for drugs and endured a ��hellish�� chapter of his life that ultimately led to him being abandoned in the Kentucky Humane Society parking lot.?

Ethan and Callaway were at the Capitol Wednesday to throw their support behind House Bill 258, which would make it a Class D felony to torture a dog or cat. A similar bill passed a few hurdles in the 2023 session but did not make it into law.?

The House Judiciary committee passed the 2024 bill, sponsored by Louisville Republican Susan Witten and a slew of others, 16-1-1. Rep. John Blanton, R-Salyersville, was the only pass vote. Rep. Savannah Maddox, R-Dry Ridge voted no.?

The bill includes definitions of torture, exemptions for certain medical modifications like ear cropping and lays out protections for hunters.?

��Locked up in a cage isn’t enough to be charged with torture,�� Witten told her colleagues. ��But being intentionally starved, causing serious injury or death, or being locked up and unable to escape does fit the definition.��?

Witten wants the bill to be known as Ethan��s Law in honor of the dog��s remarkable recovery.?

While Witten and Callaway testified, Ethan, primarily a brindle Presa Canario, munched on treats and periodically whimpered as he lay next to the desk where they were seated.

��Ethan was intentionally restrained in a kennel that was way too small for him, too small for him to stand or even move around,�� Callaway, a facilities director for Kentucky Humane Society, told lawmakers. Because of the way he was confined, Ethan developed pressure sores to the bone, the scars of which he still bears.?

��He was intentionally deprived of food and water. He suffered from a lack of food for so long that his body began to deteriorate,�� Callaway testified. ��The loss of his internal body fat was followed by muscle loss and atrophy. His internal organs began to shut down.��?

Ethan, whose breed should weigh about 90 pounds, weighed only 38 when Kentucky Humane Society staff brought him inside from the parking lot, where he had been abandoned.

He was so dehydrated, Callaway said, that veterinarian staff had to use a needle made to fit a baby kitten because his veins were so small.?

��To see him that day was devastating,�� Callaway said. ��Upon first glance, you would think he was not alive. He was unable to lift his head or move.�� Ethan takes seizure medication now, Callaway said, because ��intentional starvation and dehydration�� led to lesions forming in his brain.?

What was done to Ethan, Callaway said, ��is a crime and it needs to be a felony. Someone knew exactly what they were doing, and they just didn’t care. And make no mistake: the person that abused Ethan is abusing somebody else right now to this day. Maybe another dog and maybe another cat. More likely it’s a person �� a child, a partner, spouse.��?

Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, has filed a related bill that would require animal control officers in Kentucky to learn how to recognize child abuse and neglect �� physical, sexual and emotional. That bill has been assigned to the Families and Children Committee.?

��Ethan had to endure every aspect and defining point of this bill,�� Callaway told lawmakers. ��He’s shown that even through intentional neglect and abuse, love and kindness still win.��?

A national advocacy group says a bill approved by the Kentucky legislature will criminalize investigations of industrial agriculture abuses. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

FRANKFORT �� A bill backed by Kentucky’s poultry industry and approved by the Senate Thursday would subject drone operators to new restrictions that opponents warn could help hide health and safety hazards in food production.

Critics worry that Senate Bill 16, sponsored by Sen. John Schickel, a Republican from Northern Kentucky, could criminalize more activities than lawmakers realize and that it’s part of a long line of so-called “ag-gag” laws enacted across the country to block whistleblowers and watchdogs from investigating the conduct and practices of industrial agriculture.?

Schickel on the Senate floor said Kentucky��s poultry industry has large ��chicken houses�� and processing facilities around the state, and the industry had asked for help dealing with drones flying over and ��basically harassing�� their facilities.?

Graham Hall, a government affairs manager with Tyson Foods, testified in favor of the bill when it passed the Senate Agriculture Committee earlier this week. Hall said drones could ��hinder�� their business and endanger employees and livestock, saying a drone landed on a ��live haul�� truck in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The North Carolina town in 2020 temporarily prohibited drones from flying over a local Tyson facility that had a COVID-19 outbreak after some TV stations flew drones over the facility for news coverage.?

SB 16, which passed the Senate along a largely party line vote, would add concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and commercial food manufacturing or processing facilities, such as meatpacking plants, to a list of ��key infrastructure,�� such as energy or military research installations. Flying drones over these sites is classified as misdemeanor trespassing under state law.?

The bill restricts more than drones. It also would impose restrictions on any photography or filming of CAFOs and food-processing sites.

CAFOs are meat, dairy, and egg operations where hundreds or thousands of animals are raised together in a confined facility; Kentucky had 150 of them as of 2022. Such facilities have been the target of animal rights groups investigating instances of animal cruelty and health violations.?

The bill would criminalize flying drones above or on such facilities. It prohibits recording and distributing photos or video of CAFOs or food manufacturing or processing facilities, even when photographed or filmed from the ground.?

Sen. Jason Howell, R-Murray, said facilities ��come under fire a lot from well-meaning activists that interrupt operations�� and that the bill was ��narrowly tailored�� to protect the facilities.?

But critics of the bill, including some Democrats who voted against the legislation, believe it could have far-reaching and ?unintended consequences.?

The environmental legal group Kentucky Resources Council, which has strongly opposed the legislation, cites multiple examples of how the law could be misused or misinterpreted: Employees or inspectors taking photos or videos of workplace violations could run afoul of the restrictions. So could a neighbor taking video from their own property, or someone simply taking photos at zoos, horse tracks or pumpkin patches, which could constitute an ��animal feeding operation, �� the council has warned.?

��This bill may prevent the documenting and chill the reporting of dangerous conditions at commercial food manufacturing and packaging facilities that threaten worker or public safety,�� an email from the legal group stated. ��Workers or visitors to these facilities would be criminally liable for recording or reporting proof of an illegally and potentially dangerous source of food, defective equipment, or a spill or release of a hazardous materials, or transmitting documents to a government agency.��

Todd Blevins, the Kentucky state director of the Humane Society of the United States, echoed those concerns and also questioned whether the bill would be constitutional on First Amendment grounds. Other state laws restricting video and photo recording around agricultural facilities have been litigated, with some laws being struck down in court.?

��It just doesn’t seem like smart policy to pass something that’s been found unconstitutional more often than not,�� Blevins said.?

In an interview after SB 16 cleared the Senate, Schickel said he thinks some of Kentucky Resource Council��s concerns are ��farfetched�� but that any potential unintended consequences created by the bill would be fixed.?

“Agriculture by its nature can be distasteful to some,�� Schickel said. ��I think these groups have harassed these businesses, and these businesses have to protect their operations and their customers.��

��Tyson does a great job and these other corporations are providing that service,�� he said. ��Kentucky benefits from it.��

Despite the hazards that low head dams pose to humans and wildlife, fewer than a dozen of the 1,000-plus such structures in Kentucky have been removed in recent years, including a failing low head dam on the Barren River, above. (Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources)

In the early years of this nation and state, settlers built small dams on rivers and streams to capture waterpower for mills, enable navigation and assure a water supply. In the middle part of the last century even more were built as government agencies tried to bring waterways under control.

Today, thousands of those dams remain although new power sources and transportation methods, among other societal changes, have made most of them obsolete. Worse, almost all of them present a threat to humans and the aquatic environment.

In Kentucky alone, there are probably more than 1,000 of what are called low head dams �� structures spanning a waterway that range in height from as little as one foot to about 15 feet.?

��In a lot of cases they��re not being used at all, nobody even knows who owns them, they��re just sitting there crumbling and they��re just a hazard�� said Ward Wilson, a former executive director and board member of the Kentucky Waterways Alliance.

Like many historic structures, they can be scenic. There��s still water, like a pond, above the dam and, below, spillways that look like horizontal waterfalls. But, unlike aging courthouses and elegant mansions, low head dams disrupt aquatic species and degrade our environment. And they kill people.

��It doesn��t look like much, it doesn��t look like some raging rapid, but the way the water flows, it��s really hard to swim out of,�� explained Wilson. ��People are out there wading and they get caught and they die.��

That dangerous aquatic vortex is variously called a boil, backwash, danger zone or a drowning zone.?

A National Weather Service illustration dispassionately describes what it designates the ��drowning zone�� as ��area of river in which only prompt, qualified rescue is likely to save a victim.��

And, just as there is no count of the number of dams themselves, there is no official database for dam-related deaths, either nationally or in Kentucky.

In Kentucky, there have been in the neighborhood of 40 fatalities documented in recent decades as kayakers, canoeists, tubers, swimmers and waders were sucked into their drowning zones. But Mike Hardin, assistant director of fisheries at the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, says the death toll is much higher. ��When you look up the history of some of these old dams �� you will inevitably come across some old news story of somebody drowning. It is not new,�� he said. As for the true total over the lifespan of the dams, he said, ��I��d hate to think of what that number is.��

Water quality declines

Human deaths at low head dams are tragic and newsworthy. Less likely to capture headlines is the profound toll the dams take on aquatic species.?

��The rivers have a lot of functions and processes, such as moving sediment and gravel,�� Hardin explained. ��When the river flows it keeps those things clean swept, it keeps the water cool, it provides more complex habitat so that results in healthier fisheries, more diverse and rich species.��

But when rivers are interrupted by dams that all breaks down. ��The long and short of it is, you��re basically creating a kind of semi-pond,�� explained Lee Andrews, the field office supervisor in Kentucky for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service. ��These structures that seem like pretty small, localized, man-made creations really have some wide-ranging effects.��

When water slows down or stands still, oxygen levels drop, the temperature rises and the sediment the water is carrying falls to the bottom, burying the gravel and stones on the stream floor, and the species that live there ��? invertebrates like mussels and crayfish �� in mud.?

In the loop that nature creates, declining water quality destroys mussels and a declining mussel population reduces water quality. While mussels are small, Andrews said, they are nonstop water purifiers. ��That mussel is out there 24 hours a day, seven days a week, inhaling that water and filtering constantly. The more of them you have the cleaner your water is going to be.��?

Dirty water kills mussels and the fewer mussels, the dirtier the water.

And there are many fewer. Of the 103 species of mussels native to Kentucky, 20 are no longer found here and another 36 are considered endangered or threatened.

Damming streams also damages fish populations. Surveys have found the population of smallmouth bass ��was 1,500% higher in free flowing water than it was in the impounded water,�� Hardin said.?

In addition to higher temperatures and reduced food supply, dams also take a toll by isolating populations of the same species above and below the impoundment, which decreases the genetic diversity ��that makes that species a little more resilient,�� Andrews said.?

Plus, more species find homes in the stream when dams are removed. This summer, a year after a dam was removed on the Barren River, Andrews said, ��we started finding some fairly rare fish were showing up on some of those habitats that were created.��

Beyond the individual streams and the species that occupy them, the entire watershed benefits, said Rich Cogen, president of the?Ohio River Foundation. Removing dams improves water quality in streams flowing into the Ohio, which American Rivers recently designated an?endangered river, and ��since the water quality is better in those rivers then the water quality is improved in the Ohio River,��?Cogen said.

Removal is costly and complicated but cheaper than replacing a dam

The benefits are many but the number of low head dams removed is few, perhaps seven to 10 in total in Kentucky in the last several years. There are a lot of reasons for the slow pace. It can be costly, although never as expensive as replacing a failing or damaged dam. Sometimes it��s not even clear who owns a dam and obtaining all the permits �� federal, state and sometimes local �� required to remove a dam, can be a long and complicated process.

Cogen, who has been involved in several dam removals in Kentucky and Ohio, said there can also be concerns about water supply. ��Land owners get nervous but really only people very close to the dam are going to see significant change,�� he said. When a dam was removed near Owingsville a couple of years ago, a farmer upstream was worried about losing his water supply but the change ��was imperceptible.��?

And, people don��t like change.?

When a dam has been in place for decades or centuries, the people who live nearby have a store of memories built around the way it has always been.?

Dam 6 on the Green River failed in 2017, becoming a hazard, and had to be removed, Andrews said, but it was a sad leave-taking. ��We heard stories like ��my grandpa taught me how to fish right here,�� ��me and my girlfriend, now my wife of 55 years, used to come down here and picnic.����

Andrews and others said that removing dams typically provides more opportunities, and safer ones, for recreation. Often, much of the debris from the dam is broken up and used to stabilize the banks, and the project includes creating a small park and new access to the water. Canoeists and kayakers no longer have to portage around the dams and people can play and swim safely in the free flowing water.?

Andrews�� message is simple: ��If you know of one of these places don��t be afraid to allow somebody to take it out.��?

The benefits, he said, ��spread all across society.��?

A healthier environment means more species thrive and fewer have to be listed as endangered which prompts regulatory intervention. But Andrews said that his agency doesn��t want to spend its time creating and enforcing regulations, it wants to save species. ��We just want to have better habitat and more critters moving around out there for people to enjoy.��

Bass like free flowing water

The? Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources surveyed sport fisheries to compare free flow vs. impounded flow in the Barren and Green rivers and found notable differences based on habitat.

Barren River sport fishery

1. Dominant species:

• The free flow section of the fishery is dominated by smallmouth bass, spotted bass and rock bass. These species reach quality and trophy sizes.
• The impounded sections fishery is dominated by largemouth bass, spotted bass and bluegill. These species on average do not reach the quality sizes that anglers prefer.

2. Abundance of species:

• Black bass catch rates averaged 106% higher in free flow sections.
• Smallmouth bass, the more desirable stream black bass, catch rate averages 600% higher in the free flow sections.
• Rock bass catch rates average 3,731% higher in the free flow sections.
• Bluegill are the only sport fish species that is more prevalent in the impounded sections.?
• Overall, sport fish catch rates of all species combined was 51% higher in the free flow sections than the impounded sections.

Green River sport fishery

1. Dominant species:

• Upstream of? Mammoth Cave National Park the free flow fishery is dominated by smallmouth bass, rock bass and channel catfish. These species reach quality and trophy sizes.
• Pool 5 (impounded) is dominated by spotted bass, largemouth bass and bluegill. These species on average do not reach the quality sizes that anglers preferof Black bass catch rates averaged 69% higher in the free flow sections.

2. ?Abundance of species:

• Smallmouth bass, the more desirable stream black bass, catch rates average 155% higher in the free flow sections.
• Rock bass catch rates average 2,600% higher in the free flow sections.
• Bluegill are the only sport fish species that is more prevalent in the impounded sections.
• Overall sport fish catch rates of all species combined was 114% higher in the free flow sections than the impounded sections.

This story has been corrected to show that Owingsville is the city near where a dam was removed. The city was incorrect in the earlier version. It also has been updated to clarify that Ward Wilson is a former member of the board of the Kentucky Waterways Alliance.

Kentucky's veterinary shortage will likely be a topic during the upcoming General Assembly. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Kentucky��s Veterinary Shortage Working Group met Tuesday to finalize a report 18 months in the making.?

The report includes ways Kentucky can bring more veterinarians, especially those who practice on large animals, into the profession and give them further support to practice in Kentucky.

The group, which is under the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, has met a few times to discuss solutions to the shortage of veterinarians who work on large animals. Outgoing Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles named members of the group in February.

At that time, about 5% of veterinarians nationally practiced on large animals. In Kentucky, 3% of vets have dedicated large animal practices.?

Kentucky isn��t alone in looking to tackle its veterinary shortage. In West Virginia, state and higher education officials are planning to launch a four-year veterinary technology program as a response to its shortage. Earlier this year, the U.S. Senate established its first Senate Veterinary Medicine Caucus.?

��Other states�� departments of ag are looking to see what we do,�� Quarles said during Tuesday��s meeting and added that the topic was discussed in a recent multi-state meeting.?

Kentucky��s veterinary shortage will likely be a topic discussed during the upcoming legislative session starting in January. In October, the General Assembly��s Interim Joint Committee on Agriculture discussed the shortage.

The 25-page report includes several goals and actions to encourage more students to go into veterinary medicine and recruit students to practice in Kentucky. Subcommittees of the working group researched areas in depth for the final report and presented recommendations Tuesday.?

Some key objectives are:?

• Begin the veterinary recruitment pipeline sooner while growing Kentucky agricultural community programs to educate primary and secondary school students about veterinary medicine and agriculture.
• Encourage Kentucky’s agricultural leadership and organizations to assist in the development and funding opportunities for students to work in rural areas while attending veterinary school.?
• Have state and organization agricultural leadership establish a team approach to develop, support and retain ongoing relationships with veterinary schools.
• Create financial literacy training and mental health support programs to reduce barriers for students and aid in wellness.

Also during the meeting, ??Quarles told the group his office is working to transition with incoming Commissioner Jonathan Shell. Quarles, who has served two terms in Frankfort, will become the president of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System after he leaves his office.?

Quarles said he will also plan to be in Frankfort frequently and told working group members to let him ��know how I can be engaged in the conversation.��?

Kentucky dove season opens in Kentucky on Sept. 1.(Photo provided)

Kentucky hunters will have more dove fields for the upcoming season, the state��s Fish and Wildlife department said Friday.?

Dove season opens in Kentucky on Sept. 1. Fish and Wildlife has signed ��voluntary agreements with private landowners�� in West and Central Kentucky to add two public fields for dove hunting.?

These two new fields �C in Graves and Green Counties �C join 12 other privately owned fields that open for public hunting, according to Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. There are also 56 fields in 25 of the state��s Wildlife Management Areas where Kentuckians can hunt doves this season.?

��The privately-owned fields are made available voluntarily by landowners who are willing to allow public hunting in exchange for a lease payment, regulation of hunting opportunity, and heightened law enforcement activity by the department,�� Fish and Wildlife said.?

To purchase a required hunting license, visit https://app.fw.ky.gov/Solar/. There is a 15-per-day limit on doves in Kentucky. Hunters may not have more than 45 in their possession at any one time.?

Hunters are also required to take the Harvest Information Program (HIP) survey here before hunting.?

Dove shooting hours are 11 a.m. to sunset.?

To access the new hunting grounds in Green County:?

• Take KY 61 north from Greensburg for 0.9 miles. Turn left onto KY 88 and continue for 7.8 miles. Turn left onto Pierce-Donansburg Road then travel 2.7 miles. Turn left onto R. L. Gentry Road; dove fields will be on both sides of the road.

To access the new 50-plus acres of Graves County hunting grounds:?

• From Mayfield, head south on KY 303. Turn right onto KY 339, then continue for approximately 3 miles. Turn left onto state KY 129. Continue for 1.5 miles then veer left onto Hazel Lane.

As the summer season begins, wildlife officials are advising Kentuckians about possible black bear sightings.?

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife says that sightings of black bears are common across the state. Encounters with the animals are possible, too, especially in early summer.?

Recent sightings have been reported in eastern, southeastern and southcentral Kentucky, the department said in a press release.?

Bears may be spotted in places like rural farms, residential areas, and occasionally in a town or city as ��young males disperse from their primary range in eastern Kentucky to establish new home ranges for themselves and search for mates,�� the department said.?

John Hast, wildlife biologist and bear specialist with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, said in a statement that young male black bears can go to a more populated area unintentionally.

��They are on their own for the first time and just discovering humans,�� Hast said. ��They are generally wary of people and will keep moving to exit a populated area on their own, usually at night when humans are less active.��

Young male bears are pushed out of areas where they were raised by older, dominant males. In a day, bears can travel 20 miles or more if undisturbed. The department said the bears ��may wander up to several weeks or more into unfamiliar territory�� looking for a suitable habitat and mates before returning to a mountainous area. Eastern Kentucky and the Ozarks region of Missouri have burgeoning bear populations.?

Hast said that if bears are afraid of an unfamiliar sight, sound or location, they may ��easily get lost and wander further into a town or city instead of away.�� If people see a bear, they should not engage with it and remove potential food sources. That can encourage bears to keep moving.?

Adverse encounters are extremely rare. Black bears have a natural fear of people and dogs.

��Kentucky Fish and Wildlife advises the public to never approach or feed a bear, which can result in a negative encounter,�� the press release said. ��If you ever encounter a bear, keep a safe distance and never approach it. If you feel a bear is posing an immediate danger, call local law enforcement immediately.��

If a bear is spotted near your home, secure your garbage in a garage or other building, do not leave pet food outside and clean and securely store barbecue grills. This can also be applicable to prevent wildlife problems in general. Additionally, do not feed birds in bear range or near where a bear has been spotted recently.?

Intentionally feeding bears violates Kentucky law. Hunting bears is also regulated in the state and is limited to defined seasons within established bear zones in the eastern part of the state to sustain the animals�� population.?

For more information about black bears visit www.bearwise.org or go to the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife��s website, fw.ky.gov, and search keywords ��black bear.��

Ronon is reporter Sarah Ladd's pet. He was rescued from the Kentucky Humane Society. Ronon likes running, the woods and bacon. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd)

Under a bipartisan bill that passed a House committee on Wednesday, Kentuckians who torture a dog or cat could be charged with a felony.

House Bill 103 would make it a Class D felony to torture a domestic dog or cat. Two members of the House Standing Committee on Judiciary passed and 15 voted in favor. No one voted against.?

Each act of torture could also be charged separately under this proposed law.??

��Torture�� in this context, the bill states, means ��the intentional infliction of or subjection to extreme physical pain or serious injury or death to a dog or cat, motivated by intent or wanton disregard that causes, increases, or prolongs the pain or suffering of the dog or cat, including serious physical injury or infirmity.��?

Torture could also refer to abandonment, including locking or tying up a pet until they starve or freeze to death.?

Bill cosponsor Rep. Nick Wilson, R-Williamsburg, told colleagues that there has been a ��blind spot�� in the state��s laws regarding animal abuse. (Ryan Dotson, R-Winchester, is the primary sponsor, but was not at the committee to present Wednesday).?

��During my experience as a prosecutor, we rarely had good options on combating animal abuse behavior,�� said Wilson. ��We had a case where a man used an AR-15 to shoot a dog over 30 times. Killed the dog. Under current law, that is a misdemeanor.��?

HB103 would not apply to injuries inflicted on a cat or dog in self defense or in the defense of another pet.?

��The way it sits right now, second offense is a felony,�� Wilson said, adding ?��I think that you shouldn��t get a free chance to do this.��?