Uncategorized /
Make a PACT to Stop Animal Cruelty
In the mid-1980s, only four states—Massachusetts, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Rhode Island—had felony-level penalties for malicious cruelty to animals. But today, all 50 states have such a policy, and there’s a national consensus that vicious acts of animal abuse and torment should be treated as a serious crime.
Equines, Pets & Cruelty, Wildlife, Action Alerts, Federal Legislation, State Legislation /
Anti-Horse Slaughter Bill Hits the Senate
Many animal protection issues and challenges are not resolved quickly—they involve long-term fights that take years. The slaughter of horses for human consumption is one such example.
We and our allies have been working to block horse slaughter plants from opening in the U.S.; to stop the long-distance transport of these companion animals in cramped cattle trucks, bound for a brutal slaughter in Canada and Mexico; and to close down export markets for horse meat in the E.U.
Farm Animals, Pets & Cruelty, Wildlife, State Legislation /
States Make Progress on Animal Fighting, Puppy Mills, and More
There’s been a lot of action on animal protection policies in state legislatures so far this year, just a few months into 2015. Some major priority bills have been enacted to help crack down on cockfighting, puppy mills, and other large-scale cruelties. Other major issues are on the move, and have cleared key legislative hurdles. We’ve also garnered some key vetoes of bills inimical to animal protection. Here are a few brief dispatches on the progress for animals—and some roadblocks—in the states so far in 2015.
Uncategorized /
A Big Bang to Stop Horse Slaughter
A bipartisan team of lawmakers today introduced federal legislation to stop the butchering of America’s companion horses and the peddling of their doped up meat to foreign consumers.
Pets & Cruelty, Federal Legislation, In the News, State Legislation /
See No Evil: Dogfighting Spectator Law Already Making a Difference
I’m pleased to report that the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act, which we worked with Congress to enact last year, is now having a tangible impact in the field and helping to crack down on the entire cast of characters involved in animal fighting. This week, eight people were convicted under federal law for attending a dogfight in Akron, Ohio.
Pets & Cruelty, State Legislation /
Montana: The Nation’s Safe Haven for Dogfighting Boosters
In 49 states all across America, it’s a crime to attend a dogfight. Our federal law also includes penalties for spectators who finance dogfights with their gambling wagers and admission fees.
There is a consensus in our country that animal fighting statutes should punish the entire cast of characters involved in the criminal enterprise, including the spectators who make it profitable.
Pets & Cruelty, State Legislation /
Animal Fighting Suffers a Knockdown
It’s been a big week in our major campaign to crack down on the brutal bloodsport of animal fighting.
Farm Animals, State Legislation /
Arizonans Rally to Keep Cruelty Code Intact
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey exercised his first veto in office last night, and with a stroke of his pen, he nixed a misguided and dangerous bill that would have bifurcated the state’s anti-cruelty statute—creating one set of rules for companion animals and another, weaker, one for farm animals and horses.
Farm Animals, State Legislation /
Big Ag’s Power Grab in the Grand Canyon State
Factory farming profiteers know that consumers and voters care about animal welfare, and they increasingly try to dress up their activities and business models as having the best interests of animals in mind.
Wildlife /
Tiger Loopholes Put People and Animals at Risk
There is a crisis with captive tigers across the nation, and the Obama administration must do something about it.
Pets & Cruelty, Federal Legislation /
PAWS Act Would Protect Pets in Abusive Homes
Earlier this week, U.S. Reps. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) reintroduced a critical piece of legislation to help domestic violence victims and their beloved pets. The Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act, H.R. 1258, would amend the Violence Against Women Act to extend existing federal domestic violence protections to four-legged family members.
Wildlife, Federal Legislation /
Lawmakers Howl for Problem Solving on Wolf Protection
While some members of Congress continue to demagogue the wolf issue, calling for the complete removal of federal protections and a return to overreaching and reckless state management plans that resulted in sport hunting, trapping, and hounding of hundreds of wolves, 79 of their colleagues in the House of Representatives yesterday urged a more reasonable and constructive approach.
