A few Missouri politicians are busy trying to repeal or dismantle Proposition B, the voter-approved Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act, which sets humane standards for large-scale dog breeding operations.

Before Election Day, I posted a preliminary version of the 2010 Humane Scorecard, and after the end-of-year congressional “lame-duck” session, I provided a look at our year in review for animals. We made progress for animal protection on a number of fronts, and ended the 111th Congress with major policies enacted on crush videos, fur labeling, and shark finning.

State legislatures have convened around the country for the 2011 sessions, and some lawmakers are taking aim at one of the oldest forms of animal abuse first targeted by the early humane movement.

The 111th Congress turned out to be a very productive session that ushered in several major policy reforms for animal welfare that were top priorities for HSUS and HSLF. This occurred despite the challenges of moving legislation forward in a competitive and often polarized climate. Though several good bills were left undone, animals won important victories in the 111th Congress, which ran from January 2009 to December 2010. Today I provide a wrap-up of how animal protection fared overall in the congressional session that just ended, and what’s ahead in the coming year.

I wrote in July about a misguided federal agency plan to transfer about 200 government-owned chimpanzees from a warehouse facility in New Mexico to an active research laboratory in Texas—and now I can convey some good news on this front.

Tomorrow marks the official start of the 112th Congress. So I thought I would share a fun and inspiring video highlighting how one of the new GOP members, incoming freshman Rep. David Schweikert of Arizona's 5th Congressional District, took his dog, Charlie, to work with him in the Maricopa County Treasurer’s Office. Charlie, who was adopted from an animal shelter, was eventually promoted to the rank of “morale officer.”

It has been a tremendous couple of weeks for national animal protection issues, as the U.S. Congress rushed to finish business in this lame-duck session. We are on our way to having three federal policies enacted in December that have long been priorities for HSLF and HSUS, and coupled with the other achievements in Congress and the 97 new animal protection laws at the state level, they are marking 2010 as a great year for animals.

Ever since Missouri citizens voted in favor of Proposition B—the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act—in November, a few politicians have been thumbing their noses at voters and talking about overturning the will of the people. One bill has already been pre-filed to repeal Prop B in its entirety, and others are expected to severely weaken or gut the core provisions of the measure.

The U.S. Senate last night gave final approval to H.R. 2480, the Truth in Fur Labeling Act, to provide a much-needed upgrade to the nearly 60-year-old federal fur labeling law. The House previously passed the bill in July, and it now goes to President Obama for his signature.

President Obama’s bipartisan deficit-reduction commission is making recommendations for reducing the deficit, and here at The Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Legislative Fund we are proposing a few cost-cutting measures for lawmakers to consider in getting the country’s budget back on track.