The Democratic leaders on the Senate Committee on Appropriations yesterday released a package of nine appropriations bills funding various federal departments for fiscal year 2022, and it contains some key provisions for animal welfare that we worked hard to secure. These bills haven’t been voted on by the committee; instead, the Senate and House committees will now work to reconcile their respective packages by a December 3 deadline to avoid a federal government shutdown.

The winning trainer/rider of the World Grand Championship class at this year’s Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration, John Allen Callaway, recently served a federal disqualification for the “soring” of horses—a distinction also shared by his brother Bill and at least three other riders in the seven horse class. Together, they are the poster children for the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, H.R. 5441, reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives today with almost half the U.S. House of Representatives already onboard.

This nation cannot move fast enough to reduce the pandemic threats associated with live wildlife markets and the trade in live wildlife. That’s why we’re delighted that the House voted late yesterday in a winning bipartisan vote of 362-59 to include key elements of the Preventing Future Pandemics Act (H.R. 151) within its annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) package, which ultimately passed 316-113.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

President Biden recently signed the Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) for Veterans Therapy Act, which increases the number of service dogs available to support veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and related conditions. We’re elated at the thought that more veterans will have access to the healing benefits of the human-animal bond, and that a decade of advocacy for this kind of program has culminated in this positive progress.

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