WASHINGTON (August 20, 2026)—Humane World Action Fund, formerly called Humane Society Legislation Fund, the nation’s leading political animal advocacy organization, released the following statement regarding Senate candidate Ken Paxton’s animal welfare record as a state legislator and attorney general.
“Ken Paxton has consistently missed the mark for Texans who care about animals. With respect to animal use in research and testing he’s way out of step with the Trump Administration’s leadership not simply in protecting animals used in laboratories, but in pressing the case to end animal use altogether. Trump’s National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency are all pushing for a day when animals are no longer used,” said Sara Amundson, president of Humane World Action Fund. “As Texas Attorney General, Paxton cloaked horrific research and testing protocols using animals from public scrutiny, in a plodding legal opinion that hasn’t worn well. There is no reason to think he’d be any better as a senator voting on Animal Welfare Act amendments or any other reasonable legislation extending mercy to animals.”
On the separate issue of animal care costs accrued in cases of animal cruelty and abuse, Amundson said, “In state after state, we’ve seen legislation passed to address the costs to taxpayers and animal rescue organizations asked to shoulder the financial burden of caring for animals seized in cases of alleged abuse or neglect. It’s the perpetrators of cruelty who should cover the costs of animals’ care, not governments, citizens or animal rescue organizations. Cost-of-care legislation removes this significant obstacle to the enforcement of animal protection laws, but when it came to a vote in the Texas House of Representatives, Paxton was one of the few legislators to reject this commonsense measure.”
Texas continues to make progress in addressing animal cruelty. Last year, the state legislature passed Pancho’s Law to close a long-standing loophole in Texas’ animal cruelty statute by allowing prosecution of acts of cruelty committed with criminal negligence. And there is every reason to believe that Texans expect to see their elected officials at the federal level to support popular legislation that brings benefits to both animals and people.
“Members of the U.S. Senate will be called upon to consider legislation that addresses painful and unnecessary experiments on animals,” said Brad Pyle, political director for Humane World Action Fund. “Texans deserve to know whether the candidates seeking to represent them will support meaningful measures to reduce animal suffering, advance humane alternatives, and ensure greater accountability in research involving animals. Before casting their ballots in November, voters should ask each candidate where they stand and whether they are prepared to champion policies that protect animals from needless harm."
Background on HB 963
- May 10, 2011 – Respected animal protection organizations, including the Humane Society of the United States, now known as Humane World for Animals, a sister organization to Humane World Action Fund, formally registered their support for HB 963.
- May 13, 2011 – HB 963 passed the Texas House of Representatives by a vote of 122 yeas to 15 nays. Ken Paxton, a member of the Texas House of Representatives at the time, cast one of the 15 votes in opposition.
- June 17, 2011 – HB 963 was signed into law by Governor Rick Perry.
- September 1, 2011 – HB 963 went into effect.
Background on animals used in research at Texas A&M
- In April 2015, animal welfare advocates submitted formal requests to Texas A&M asking for records of individual dogs used in publicly funded experiments. In 2014, the school reported using 428 dogs and 15 cats for research.
- July 19, 2015 – Houston Chronicle – A&M refuses to share records for animals in lab testing
- July 20, 2015 – NBC DFW – Activists Seek Animal Testing Records From Texas University
- August 23, 2015 – The Battalion – Texas A&M sued over withheld animal research records
- When the issue was raised to the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, his office issued a series of legal opinions allowing Texas A&M to withhold the records of care requested on the basis of veterinarian-patient privilege.
- June 30, 2015 – OR2015-13076
- June 30, 2015 – OR2015-13077
- August 25, 2015 – OR2015-17718
- The following year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that a Texas A&M University campus violated three provisions of the Animal Welfare Act in the school’s neglect of equines, including a breeding mare, in their care.
- October 19, 2016 – CBS News – Texas A&M mismanagement blamed for alleged animal cruelty
Media Contact: Emily Gugel, 202-779-1814, egugel@humaneworld.org
Paid for by Humane World Action Fund and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. Humane World Action Fund, 1255 23rd Street, NW, Suite 455, Washington, DC 20037.
