Before Election Day, I posted a preliminary version of the 2010 Humane Scorecard, and after the end-of-year congressional “lame-duck” session, I provided a look at our year in review for animals. We made progress for animal protection on a number of fronts, and ended the 111th Congress with major policies enacted on crush videos, fur labeling, and shark finning.
Tomorrow marks the official start of the 112th Congress. So I thought I would share a fun and inspiring video highlighting how one of the new GOP members, incoming freshman Rep. David Schweikert of Arizona's 5th Congressional District, took his dog, Charlie, to work with him in the Maricopa County Treasurer’s Office. Charlie, who was adopted from an animal shelter, was eventually promoted to the rank of “morale officer.”
Ever since Missouri citizens voted in favor of Proposition B—the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act—in November, a few politicians have been thumbing their noses at voters and talking about overturning the will of the people. One bill has already been pre-filed to repeal Prop B in its entirety, and others are expected to severely weaken or gut the core provisions of the measure.
There are still a few congressional races to be decided with absentee and provisional votes being counted, but the broader results are in and it's an opportunity to take stock of how animal advocates fared on the ballot. And one of the markers of our progress is to compare how our endorsed candidates did with those of other political adversaries.
Just days after a majority of Missouri voters approved Proposition B to crack down on puppy mill abuses in the nation’s largest puppy mill state and while provisional ballots are still being counted, a few Missouri politicians have pledged to work to overturn the initiative and to substitute their own judgment for the wisdom of the people. There is talk of a flurry of bills to be introduced in January to repeal the law.
In less than 24 hours, voters will head to their polling precincts and cast their ballots on candidates and issues across the country. There is much at stake for animal protection in tomorrow’s contests, including whether some of our leading animal advocates in Congress will return to Washington in 2011, and whether voters will decide to ban canned hunts and crack down on puppy mill abuses.
This week the Humane Society Legislative Fund launched a TV ad campaign in North Dakota, featuring North Dakota hunters who support Measure 2, a ballot initiative seeking to ban the unfair and unsporting practice of shooting tame deer and elk in fenced enclosures.
The readers of more than 700 newspapers in 20 countries this weekend were given a special treat with their Sunday comics: Patrick McDonnell’s popular MUTTS strip is spreading the word about Missouri’s puppy mills and calling on readers to take action to save dogs.
Missouri’s two largest newspapers, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Kansas City Star, today offered resounding endorsements of Proposition B, and urged Missouri citizens to vote Yes on this measure to stop puppy mill abuses by establishing common-sense standards for the care of dogs.
