With the 110th Congress now adjourned, The Humane Society of the United States thanks federal legislators, and the millions of concerned citizens who encouraged them, for significant progress on animal welfare legislation.
"Congress has made important strides on animal protection in the past two years," said HSUS president and CEO Wayne Pacelle. "The 111th Congress and the Obama Administration hold even greater promise for real reform that will make ours a more humane nation."
FARM ANIMALS: Pacelle has called 2008 "the year of the farm animal," in light of California's landslide passage of its Proposition 2 to halt intensive confinement of animals raised for food and our landmark investigation into cruelty at the federally inspected Hallmark/Westland slaughter plant in southern California. Because of the Hallmark investigation, Congress held eight hearings on food safety and inhumane treatment of animals at slaughter plants and Congress showed a new willingness to seek accountability from an industry that has gotten a regulatory pass for too long. The Agriculture Secretary in May promised to adopt a rule to ban any slaughter of downer cows for human consumption, and legislation to codify the ban on downer cattle is poised for action when the 111th Congress revisits an economic stimulus package in 2009.
FARM BILL: With the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) overseeing the enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), the massive multi-year Farm Bill presented an opportunity to improve our nation's animal protection policies and toughen the penalties for those who engage in cruelty and abuse. Approved this past May, after Congress overrode President Bush's veto, the Farm Bill included important measures to stop the import of puppies for commercial sale from foreign puppy mills and strengthen the federal law against animal fighting, as well as to increase penalties for those who violate the AWA. Fortunately, the final package did not include several bad provisions that The HSUS opposed, intended to (1) pre-empt state and local laws on animal welfare and food safety, (2) promote domestic sales of small turtles for the first time since the Food and Drug Administration banned such sales in 1975 to protect against Salmonella transmission, and (3) create a new $12 million subsidy for the veal industry.
ANIMAL FIGHTING: Culminating a long-term effort, Congress passed the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act in April 2007 to authorize felony-level penalties of up to 3 years jail time for interstate or foreign transport of animals for fighting purposes and to outlaw the movement of cockfighting weapons across state or national borders. This law upgraded the weak and ineffective misdemeanor penalties previously in place. Then, just a few weeks after final congressional action on that bill, the cruel underworld of animal fighting was thrust into the national spotlight by the investigation of NFL star quarterback Michael Vick and the dogfighting complex at his home. In the wake of that notorious case, Congress agreed to further strengthen federal law via the Farm Bill by making it a crime to knowingly possess or train animals for fighting, boosting the maximum penalty for animal fighting offenses to 5 years jail time, and making any animal fighting affecting interstate or foreign commerce a federal crime.
APPROPRIATIONS: Included in the 2007 "omnibus" appropriations bill were measures or report language on several important animal protection issues: barring federal spending on horse slaughter; promoting adoption of horses retired from the U.S. Border Patrol or other federal agencies; instructing the U.S. Agency for International Development not to promote trophy hunting as a rural development or conservation strategy; calling on the USDA to study Controlled Atmosphere Stunning as a more humane alternative for poultry slaughter; preventing federal authorities from directing that cats in federally subsidized housing be declawed; addressing overuse of antibiotics in factory farms; and encouraging alternatives to animal testing.
The 2007 appropriations bill also provided record funding for USDA enforcement of the AWA and sustained funding for enforcement of the humane slaughter and animal fighting laws, emergency planning/response for animals in disasters, and a veterinary student loan forgiveness program to encourage new veterinarians to work in underserved areas. The appropriations bills for 2008 were not finalized before the close of the 110th Congress, but funding for animal welfare enforcement is on track for approval early in 2009.
PET FOOD SAFETY: Legislation in response to scandals involving tainted ingredients in pet and human food was introduced in 2007. Key elements of this legislation were enacted as part of a Food and Drug Administration reauthorization bill, requiring the agency to set standards for pet food, strengthen labeling rules, establish an early warning system, post searchable online recall lists and requiring companies to report contaminated food and make key records available during investigations so contaminants can be traced quickly.
OTHER MEASURES PASSED: The 110th Congress passed a bill to bar the National Institutes of Health from reclaiming chimpanzees who had been sent to sanctuaries and a provision to create a national War Dog Memorial. The House also passed a resolution condemning Canada's brutal seal slaughter.
PRIORITIES FOR THE 111TH CONGRESS: Animal welfare issues that are ripe for consideration in the 111th Congress include: banning horse slaughter; bringing Internet sellers of puppies into the regulatory program of the USDA and mandating regular exercise for dogs at all commercial breeding facilities; requiring labeling of all fur products; prohibiting interstate commerce in primates for the pet trade; phasing out the use of chimpanzees in invasive research; barring the use in research of dogs and cats obtained by Class B dealers through random sources (including thefts of family pets); restoring the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses; and improving oversight at slaughter plants and livestock auctions.
For more information about The HSUS' legislative victories in the 110th Congress and in state legislatures across the country in 2008, please visit: http://www.humanesociety.org/legislation_laws/ .
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