Farm Animals, Federal Legislation, In the News, State Legislation /
The Good and the Bad in the Farm Bill
The House Agriculture Committee, late last night, approved its version of the Farm Bill, and with it included an important provision to close a loophole in the federal animal fighting statute and help crack down on people who attend and bring children to dogfights and cockfights. The animal fighting amendment, offered by Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., passed the committee by a bipartisan vote of 28 to 17. It’s based on H.R. 366, sponsored by Reps. Tom Marino, R-Pa., McGovern, John Campbell, R-Calif., and Jim Moran, D-Va.
Farm Animals, Action Alerts, Ballot Measures, Federal Legislation, Food, In the News, State Legislation /
A Radical Federal Attack on States’ Rights
The House Agriculture Committee will take up the Farm Bill tomorrow morning, and will consider an amendment offered by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, that seeks to negate most state and local laws regarding the production or manufacture of agriculture products. It’s a radical federal overreach that would undermine the longstanding Constitutional rights of states to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens and local businesses.
Farm Animals, Pets & Cruelty, Action Alerts, Federal Legislation /
With Farm Bill Looming, Make a Call to Help Hens
As the House and Senate agriculture committees are both scheduled to take up the Farm Bill next week, there is much at stake for animal welfare. The Senate draft of the bill includes a provision to crack down on people who attend and bring children to dogfights and cockfights, based on the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act.
Equines, Action Alerts, Federal Legislation, In the News /
Horse Slaughter Not a Risk Worth Taking
I’ve pointed out many times on this blog that the horse slaughter industry in the U.S. is cruel and predatory, gathering and killing horses in particularly gruesome ways. It’s a sad fate for so many American horses—iconic companion animals not raised for human consumption but often ending up on foreign dinner plates. The entire horse slaughter pipeline, from auction to transport to the cruel slaughter process, is terrifying and inherently inhumane for horses.
Pets & Cruelty, Federal Legislation, In the News, Podcasts /
Podcast: Bipartisan Support to Crack Down on Animal Fighting
I was a guest this week on SiriusXM’s POTUS channel, to discuss the need for the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act.
Equines, Action Alerts, Federal Legislation, In the News /
All Eyes on the Kentucky Derby, and Needed Reform
In what other professional sport is it acceptable for 24 athletes to die each week? With millions of Americans watching the Kentucky Derby this weekend, it’s an important time to take stock of the horseracing industry and the critical reforms that are needed to protect the welfare of its equine competitors—because the toll in animal deaths and injuries year after year is far too great and so many of them are preventable.
Pets & Cruelty, Ballot Measures, In the News, State Legislation /
Felony Cruelty Laws in 49 States and Counting
This week, Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed Senate Bill 2211 into law, making North Dakota the 49th state in the nation to establish some felony-level penalties for malicious acts of animal cruelty. It was a long time coming, and a follow up to last year’s Measure 5 campaign, which put the issue of animal cruelty on the public agenda and spurred action by state lawmakers.
Uncategorized /
Urge Congress to Help Hundreds of Millions of Hens
Today in the U.S. Congress, a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Reps. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., Jeff Denham, R-Calif., Sam Farr, D-Calif., and Mike Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., reintroduced legislation that ratifies a national agreement between the egg industry and animal welfare groups to improve the treatment of 280 million laying hens. Under the terms of the bill, the entire U.S.
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Hold the Line on Animal Welfare Funding
Congress has made important progress over the years addressing serious gaps in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s enforcement of key animal welfare laws by providing the agency much-needed funding to allow for better inspection programs.
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Horsemeat Scandal Still Riding at a Gallop
The horsemeat scandal is still having a ripple effect across Europe, as officials announced this week that about 5 percent of beef products—everything from frozen lasagna to Swedish meatballs—tested positive for containing horse DNA.
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Protect Children from Being Exposed to Cruelty and Violence
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and it’s appropriate that this week, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced legislation to help protect animals and children from dogfighting and cockfighting.
There are a lot of ways to hurt a child. But none may be more baffling than to expose a young child to the senseless cruelty of animal fighting and its associated crimes.
Uncategorized /
A Pit Bull Pox on Both Their Houses
If you think the phrase “epic fail” is reserved for pop culture, you’ve never visited the Maryland legislature. Yesterday, after a year of political debate, elected lawmakers squandered an opportunity to provide relief to thousands of Maryland families who may be forced to choose between their homes and their beloved dogs.
