Check this out – Tennessee law 39-3-101 states:

“In this part, and in every law relating to or affecting animals, the words animal or dumb animal shall be held to include every living creature; the words torture, torment, or cruelty shall be held to include every act, omission, or neglect whereby unjustifiable physical pain, suffering, or death is caused or permitted; but nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting the shooting of birds or game for the purpose of human food, or the use of animate targets by incorporated gun clubs.”

The place on the internet where I found this law sites Acts 1881, ch 169, 13; 1895, ch. 75, 2,3; Shan.,2870; mod. Code 1932, 5104; TCA (orig ed.), 39-401.

OK.  Am I reading this right?  Every living creature is a dumb animal if any living creature is a dumb animal – and any kind of wrong done to said dumb animal is considered cruelty, torment, or torture, and that none of the above applies to dumb animal or not if someone is hunting a dumb animal for food or sport?  That’s clear and understandable…ish.

I find it interesting that gun clubs are mentioned in particular.

I just googled “Dumb Animals” and found a June, 1880 Boston publication entitled “Our Dumb Animals.”  Their tagline (as it were) is “We speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.”  So, that clears up the whole dumb animal thing.  Obviously, this law means that people are dumb animals too, so nobody should hunt people unless it’s for food…

or sport…

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