By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

The Senate Committee on Appropriations acted on a raft of animal welfare measures late last week, building on the House committee’s earlier work and helping set the stage for positive results in the final package. In a few areas—specifically directing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to phase out cosmetics testing on animals, providing increased funding for the U.S.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

This year has already been historic for animals, as the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of upholding the strongest farm animal protection law in the country, California’s Proposition 12. This landmark law, approved by voters via ballot measure in 2018, prohibits the in-state production and sale of products produced via the extreme confinement of mother pigs, egg-laying chickens and calves used for veal.

As in recent years, the annual congressional appropriations process continues to be a key path for us to seek progress for animals. The legislation funding programs within the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration is a top priority because appropriations-focused lobbying and policymaking makes it possible to address a wide range of species and issues at one time and in one package.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

For over a decade, we have been fighting hard to prevent the suffering and abuse of captive big cats, confronting a dangerous industry and the individuals who take advantage of these animals. And we celebrated in December of last year when President Biden signed the Big Cat Public Safety Act into law.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY) has just introduced a bill that responds to growing concerns about the public health threat posed by mink fur factory farms. The Mink: Vectors for Infection Risk in the United States Act (‘‘Mink VIRUS Act”), H.R. 3783, seeks to prohibit the farming of mink in the U.S.