Tennessee state Rep. Andy Holt (R-Dresden) described the Humane Society as radicals and accused them of promoting rape-like tactics against farmers, according to emails released Friday.

Kayci McLeod of the Human Society had written to Holt earlier this month to ask him to oppose legislation that would criminalize activists who exposed animal abuse on factory farms and in slaughterhouses.

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Holt, who sponsored the bill in the Tennessee House, was apparently not too pleased to have received the correspondence.

“I am extremely pleased that we were able to pass HB 1191 today to help protect livestock in Tennessee from suffering months of needless investigation that propagandist groups of radical animal activists, like your fraudulent and reprehensibly disgusting organization of maligned animal abuse profiteering corporatists, who are intent on using animals the same way human-traffickers use 17 year old women,” he replied.

“You work for a pathetic excuse for an organization and a pathetic group of sensationalists who seek to profit from animal abuse. I am glad, as an aside, that we have limited your preferred fund-raising methods here in the state of Tennessee; a method that I refer to as ‘tape and rape.’ Best wishes for the failure of your organization and it’s true intent.”

Several state legislatures have considered the so-called “Ag-Gag” laws this year. Tennessee’s version of the bill would make it a crime to not turn over any unedited videos and photographs of animal abuse to law enforcement within 24 hours.