By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

The last horse slaughter plants in the United States closed years ago, and Congress has consistently voted to prohibit funding for horse slaughter inspections within U.S borders. Unfortunately, this does not prevent the inhumane transport of American equines to other countries. Each year, tens of thousands of our horses and burros are transported under terrible conditions to Canada and Mexico, where they meet a cruel end because there is no federal law stopping such transport across our borders.

The final 2018 Humane Scorecard is now online, and we invite you to check it out and see how your federal legislators stood on a range of key issues last year. Please also share this scorecard with family, friends, and fellow advocates and help spread the word!

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

A strong team of bipartisan lawmakers has reintroduced a bill to end the cruel practice of “soring” Tennessee walking horses and related breeds, a core priority for us here at the Humane Society Legislative Fund and the Humane Society of the United States.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

The 116th Congress began work today on rooting out some of the worst forms of animal cruelty in the world, with House members reintroducing two important bipartisan bills. One would ban malicious acts of animal cruelty and bestiality, and the other would prohibit the destructive trade in shark fins within our borders.

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution of disapproval concerning Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) for recent remarks in which he questioned the offensiveness of white supremacy and white nationalism.

The 2018 Farm Bill has now been signed into law by President Trump—most importantly without the odious King amendment—which makes this a banner day for our animal protection work. Stopping Rep. Steve King (R-IA) from hooking his massive power grab—to nullify state and local laws addressing animal welfare concerns—onto the package has been our top priority. To succeed, we marshaled a broad-based coalition of more than 220 groups to oppose it.

Update December 12, 2018: Great news! The Farm Bill passed its key test today with flying colors. The House approved the package by a whopping bipartisan 369-47 vote. With yesterday’s 87-13 approval in the Senate, it now heads to President Trump.

You may have heard U.S. Representative Steve King’s (IA-4) controversial remarks regarding the way he views people. But you may not know he also has a long record of ambivalence and hostility toward animals and their protection. Whether it involves animal fighting, horse slaughter, or the infamous amendment in the House version of the Farm Bill that carries his name, he has consistently fought to prevent any advancement in commonsense animal protections supported by the vast majority of Americans.

One of our core objectives is to make it simple and efficient for voters to determine how federal lawmakers have sided on crucial animal protection legislation across a range of issues. As the midterm elections approach, the Humane Society Legislative Fund has just released its preview version of the 2018 Humane Scorecard for the second session of the 115th Congress to provide voters with such a tool as they head to the polls.

Update 10/3/2018: Today the Senate passed legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by a vote of 93-6. The bill includes the same language that was approved by the House last week—prohibiting the storage of live animals in overhead compartments of airplanes and authorizing civil penalties for violators. Thank you to Senators John Kennedy, R-La, and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., along with Reps. Dan Donovan, R-N.Y., and Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., for spearheading this critical language.