When Congress failed to reach an agreement on deficit–reduction
legislation last year, we knew budgetary issues and sequestration
cuts could negatively affect animals at some point—from the number of
inspectors enforcing the law at puppy mills and research labs to the number of
wild horses treated with a fertility control vaccine to prevent round-ups. We
President Obama this week announced the addition of a new First Dog, Sunny, who joins Bo as part of the First Family. We congratulate the Obamas on their new pet, and wish them years of joy and companionship.
Congress is on recess in August, but facing the remaining task to iron out a final Farm Bill and decide the outcome of Rep. Steve King’s, R-Iowa, destructive provision seeking to nullify state rules relating to agricultural standards. In addition to repealing protections for farm animals, horses, sharks, and dogs, the King amendment could also wipe out of hundreds of state laws protecting food safety, crop protection, fire safety, and more.
Let’s talk about progress, and how to get there.
Two U.S. Senators are asking their colleagues to work with them to crack down on the rampant cruelty of “soring” in Tennessee walking horse show competitions. This week, U.S. Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., and Mark Warner, D-Va., introduced the bipartisan Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, S.
The Hill’s Judy Kurtz has a touching video interview with Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-N.M., whose lost dog, Kiwi, is back safe with her after a 13-month absence. The 9-year-old Shih Tzu mix bolted from the congresswoman’s enclosed yard in New Mexico when she was frightened by the noise from a hot air balloon.
Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-Minn., in his weekly “Correspondence Corner” video series, took a question from a constituent who emailed him in support of H.R. 847, the Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act, to crack down on abusive puppy mills. Joined by his special guest, Arbor, a rescue dog adopted by one of his staffers, Rep. Paulsen took the opportunity to answer the question from Dick in Bloomington, and talk about not only his co-sponsorship of the puppy mill legislation, but also his co-sponsorship of the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act, H.R.
The Forum newspaper in Fargo-Moorhead this past weekend weighed in strongly with an editorial on North Dakota’s anemic anti-cruelty statute, saying that even with the changes in the law taking effect next month, it’s not enough to deal with cruelty cases such as two horrific incidents of dog abuse that had occurred during the prior week. The paper opined:
A bipartisan group of 62 House members—led by U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., and Grace Meng, D-N.Y.—sent a letter to the Obama Administration urging it to revise a proposed federal rule that could undermine state bans on buying or selling shark fins.
The Chicago Tribune weighed in with an editorial this weekend on the Obama Administration’s latest in a series of proposals to strip recovering gray wolves of their federal protections—leaving the fate of wolves to the blood lust of hostile state politicians and trophy hunting and ranching interests.
