Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., who received
a Legislative Leader Award, and his dog, Cali
photo: Bill Petros Photography

It’s a rare thing in Washington when two enemies lay down their swords and work together to find a way forward.

The House Judiciary Committee tomorrow is scheduled to vote on H.R. 511, a bill introduced by Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., to add nine species of large constrictor snakes to the list of injurious species under the Lacey Act.

It’s rare for a family pet to survive a close encounter with one of the deadly predator control devices set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services program.

Good ideas, and bad ideas, often originate in state legislatures. Last year I singled out a Utah bill to allow the killing of any animal thought to be feral—with bludgeoning, shooting, and decapitation—as raising the bar for legislative lunacy. Fortunately that misguided proposal was sent to the legislative litter box, and Utah lawmakers instead passed a forward-thinking bill to sanction trap-neuter-return (TNR) policies for feral cats.

Proponents and opponents of horse slaughter don’t agree on much these days, but there’s one thing they have in common: There is consensus that transporting horses stacked on top of each other crammed into double-decker trailers is unsafe and inhumane. The double-deckers are designed to haul smaller animals such as cows, pigs, and sheep. Horses are taller and often slip and fall because they can’t raise or lower their heads for balance.

The U.S. House of Representatives late yesterday, by unanimous voice vote, passed H.R. 306, the Corolla Wild Horses Protection Act, introduced by Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C. This legislation, strongly supported by HSLF and other animal protection groups, will ensure the protection, preservation and responsible management of a small herd of wild Colonial Spanish Mustangs roaming freely on the northernmost Outer Banks of Currituck County, North Carolina.

Today I posted the latest installment of the “Animals & Politics” podcast, hosted by Patrick Ferrise, in which we discuss the new

A trio of bills before the Michigan Legislature takes full-scale aim at dogfighting and cockfighting in creative and meaningful ways that could serve as a model for other states. These bills have passed the Michigan Senate as well as the House Judiciary Committee and now await a House floor vote before going to Governor Rick Snyder for his consideration.

A year ago at the president’s State of the Union address, Democrats and Republicans sat together, in a show of solidarity for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., severely injured at a mass shooting in her district. Tonight’s address is likely to be very different in tone, and in fact, the unity and cohesion briefly exhibited last year on Capitol Hill has largely waned. It’s rare to see lawmakers of different parties and different viewpoints talking to each other, let alone sitting together.