Activists Urge Nebraska Lawmakers to Kill Animal-Abuse Bill - KHGI-TV/KWNB-TV/KHGI-CD-Grand Island, Kearney, Hastings

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Activists are pouncing on a Nebraska bill that would impose a 24-hour reporting requirement for witnesses of animal abuse, and former television icon Bob Barker is jumping into the debate.

Barker, the former host of "The Price is Right," sent a letter last week to the Legislature's Judiciary Committee, urging its members to kill the proposal. Animal-rights groups say it would cripple their ability to catch patterns of abuse at animal-processing facilities.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Tyson Larson of O'Neill, says many of those groups circulate animal-abuse footage for their own fundraising and political gain, in an effort to turn Americans against the industry.

Barker tells The Associated Press that the bill is "ridiculous."

Iowa passed a similar law last year, with bipartisan support.