A legislative committee in Israel this weekend advanced a bill that would ban the import and export of all furs, except for those used for religious purposes. The panel previously approved a ban on the sale of dog and cat fur, and Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon is hoping to expand the law to include fur from any animal. The religious exemption would largely be used by the ultra-Orthodox community to manufacture shtreimels, a traditional fur hat.
The events that take place inside a state capitol building can have a major impact on animal welfare policy. But sometimes the events taking place outside the legislative chamber on capitol grounds can have an even more immediate and direct impact on animals themselves.
Today I’d like to post a selection of comments that have come into the blog. I recently wrote about the declining dog racing industry and the work of GREY2K USA, a greyhound protection organization which has helped to shape the debate on dog racing in the past decade:
All eyes have been on Haiti in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake that has killed at least 150,000 people in the western hemisphere’s poorest nation. As we saw during Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters, the tragedy for people is coupled with a tragedy for animals—our fortunes are intertwined as animals are part of our daily lives in so many ways.
Before the holidays, I posted a preliminary version of the 2009 Humane Scorecard, and provided a look at the year in review for animals in Congress. We made progress for animal protection on a number of fronts, but also suffered some setbacks and left some important work unfinished.
I’ve been traveling in Missouri this week meeting with animal advocates, humane societies, and dog lovers across the state to launch our signature gathering drive to place the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act on the November 2010 statewide ballot. We’ve had hundreds of volunteers attend our kick-off meetings, and there’s so much enthusiasm and support for passing a law to crack down on abusive puppy mills.
I recently visited with my friends Christine Dorchak and Carey Theil, the leaders of the greyhound protection organization GREY2K USA, and we took stock of the state of dog racing in the country. Although greyhound racing emerged in the 1920s in America and peaked in popularity in the 1980s, it historically had not been a top priority for the animal protection movement, with the exception of a number of rescue groups working to adopt greyhounds discarded from the tracks.
This past weekend in Texas, the Parker County Sheriff’s Office, the USDA’s Office of Inspector General, and The Humane Society of the United States kicked off 2010 with a major cockfighting raid.
As we ring in the new year tonight, let’s celebrate the progress made for animals in 2009. It was a record-breaking year for animal protection lawmaking, with 121 new state laws enacted, including major public policies to crack down on animal fighting, puppy mills, factory farming, and other large-scale cruelties.
I’m always excited to gauge reader feedback on the blog, and as we look back at 2009, I’ve taken a look at which of the year’s postings resonated the most with you—whether it’s through the reaction each post receives, a surge in traffic, or the number of times the blog is shared (using the “ShareThis” button at the bottom of each posting).
