Uncategorized /
A Loss for Alaska’s Wild
In Alaska, some people use airplanes to shoot wolves. But Dr. Gordon Haber used airplanes to help wolves and study the species.
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Helping Vets, Pets, and Primates
Congress took two steps in recent days on animal issues, as part of its larger bills related to the Department of Defense and military spending.
Talk Back /
Talk Back: Thanks and Spanks
I always like to hear your thoughts on my blogs and today I’d like to post a few reader comments to recent posts.
I’ve received many comments praising Ben Byrom, a 14-year-old Californian, who has been a stellar advocate for animals.
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It’s Animal Cruelty, Not Animal Planet
I had the privilege of sitting in the U.S. Supreme Court this morning as the nine justices debated whether to uphold the federal Depiction of Animal Cruelty Law, which Congress passed in 1999 to bar the commercial trafficking in videos of illegal animal torture for profit. The justices asked thoughtful questions about the balance between freedom of speech and the governmental interest in stamping out deplorable cruelty to animals.
Uncategorized /
Court Upholds Law Protecting People and Pets
While the U.S. Supreme Court tomorrow will consider a landmark case on the commercial sale of videos showing illegal acts of animal torture, another decision just issued by a federal court in Louisville could also have a meaningful impact on animal protection policies nationwide.
Elections /
Soft on Crime, Soft on Cruelty
Virginia state Sen. Ken Cuccinelli may be one of the only elected officials in the country running for statewide office who is an apologist for staged animal fighting and has the record to prove it. He’s running this November for attorney general in Virginia, yet he’s soft on dogfighting and cockfighting. One of the last boosters of cockfighting to run for statewide office, former Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris John, got clobbered when he ran for U.S. Senate in Louisiana in 2004 and it was his tolerance for animal fighting that was his undoing.
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A Game-Changer for Shelter Pets
There’s no question that we as a society need to do more to help homeless dogs and cats find loving families, and we are even seeing the issue of pet adoption enter the public policy arena.
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Good News and Bad News Bears
I testified this morning at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife, opposing a bill by Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) that would allow hunters to import trophies of sport-hunted polar bears from Canada.
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Animal All-Star
I met 14-year-old San Diego student Ben Byrom last year, when he was volunteering for the campaign to pass Proposition 2 and ban inhumane factory farming practices.
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Women Lawmakers are Top Dogs on Animal Welfare
Politico’s Erika Lovley reported yesterday on a new study conducted by researchers at Stanford University and the University of Chicago, indicating that women in Congress tend to be more effective than male lawmakers. The study examined the performance of House members over two decades, and found that on average, women introduce more bills and attract more cosponsors for their legislation.
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A Double Whammy for Animal Shelters
The economic downturn is having ripple effects in nearly every part of American life, but the impact on animal shelters has been especially acute. Struggling families are relinquishing more dogs and cats to shelters, as they find they can no longer afford the costs of pet care, or they are evicted from their homes and cannot find pet-friendly housing. At the same time, municipal governments are cutting local services, and charitable giving is on the decline, so both public and private shelters have less funding.
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Back to Work in the Nation’s Capital
Members of Congress return to Washington today after a month-long recess, and they’ll get back to work on health care reform and other top-tier issues. But animal protection has also been on the agenda, and many of our key priorities have already made meaningful progress during the 111th Congress.
Today I’d like to give you a snapshot of where we stand after the first eight months of the congressional session, and what we still need to achieve in the remainder of 2009 and 2010. The following bills have cleared at least one major hurdle already:
