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Animal Welfare
Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards
(PETS) Act * Farm
Animal Stewardship Purchasing Act *
Horse Slaughter * Downed Animal
Protection Act * Endangered
Species * Wildlife
* Captive Wildlife
* Domestic Animals
* Animal Fighting
Congressman Tom Lantos of California and I are Co-Chairs
of the Congressional Friends of Animals Caucus. I am committed
to animal welfare because I believe humankind has an obligation
to all animals.
Some species have become our companions and some play important
roles in sensitive ecosystems. It is our duty to protect and
care for all of these animals.
Pets Evacuation
and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act
On September 22, 2005, Congressman Tom Lantos and I introduced
H.R.
3858, the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS)
Act. This common-sense bill requires state and
local preparedness groups to include plans for evacuation
of pet owners, pets and service animals in the event of a
major disaster. This legislation passed overwhelmingly on
May 22, 2006, by a vote of 349 to 29.
Hurricane Katrina left so many victims in its wake, including
up to 600,000 animals that lost their lives or were left without
shelter. Katrina taught us the hard lesson that, as we prepare
for future emergencies, it's important we protect our pet
owners in our plans, many of whom had to choose between their
safety and the safety of their pets.
In order to qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) funding, a jurisdiction is required to submit a plan
detailing their disaster preparedness plan. The PETS Act would
simply require State and local emergency preparedness authorities
to include how they will accommodate households with pets
or service animals when presenting these plans to FEMA.
This bipartisan legislation is necessary because, when asked
to choose between abandoning their pets or their own personal
safety, many pet owners choose to risk their lives and remain
with their pets. This is not just an animal welfare issue,
this is a public safety issue.
You may also be interested to know Congressman Tom Lantos
of California and I are Co-Chairs of the Congressional Friends
of Animals Caucus. We will continue to work on a bipartisan
basis to help protect animals at the federal level.
Farm Animal Stewardship Purchasing
Act
On June 14, 2006, I introduced H.R.
5557, the Farm Animal Stewardship Purchasing Act
with Congressman Peter DeFazio. This legislation would require
that those supplying food to the federal government - including
the military, federal prisons, school lunches, and other programs
- meet a basic set of modest welfare standards for farm animals.
Billions of animals are raised for food every year in the
U.S., giving our families nourishment and helping feed the
world. But there is no federal law regarding the humane treatment
of these animals while they're on the farm.
The humane treatment of animals speaks to our nation's core
values. This legislation will not ban any current methods
of production, but would instead have the federal government
lead by example, creating a small, but important, marketplace
for producers who raise their animals in a more humane way.
Estimates indicate that the total sales affected in the U.S.
would be slightly more than one percent.
Humane treatment would be defined as:
- Adequate shelter that allows animals to stand up, lie
down
and extend their limbs without touching any part of their
enclosure.
- Daily access to food and water sufficient to maintain
the animal's health.
- Adequate veterinary care, including prompt treatment
of
injuries or euthanasia for a sick or injured animal.
These modest standards mean that federal suppliers cannot
engage in the most inhumane current industrial farming practices
- intensive confinement in battery cages, gestation or veal
crates, forced molting of laying hens through starvation,
forced feeding for foie gras, hauling of downed animals to
slaughter or leaving sick or injured animals to languish without
treatment or humane euthanasia.
This bill does not mandate industry-wide compliance with
these modest requirements. It would only apply to those producers
who choose to do business with the federal government. This
mirrors the approach that was taken when the Humane Methods
of Slaughter Act was first enacted in 1958.
Just as Congress decided a half century ago that farm animals
deserve a merciful death, we believe they deserve a merciful
life on the farm. And just as the federal government already
imposes numerous standards on contractors, including wage
and labor requirements and fuel economy standards for government
vehicles, we believe it's time to have basic humane standards
for food purchased with tax dollars.
Read
Our Dear Colleague
Horse Slaughter
I share your support for the protection of horses because
I oppose the cruel and senseless slaughter of American horses
for human consumption in foreign markets. I am a cosponsor
of H.R.
503, the American Horses Slaughter Prevention Act,
which is similar to H.R. 297. H.R. 503 would prohibit any
person from:
(1) slaughtering a horse for human consumption;
(2) importing to, or exporting from, the United States horseflesh
or horses for human consumption; or
(3) selling, bartering, transferring, receiving, or distributing
horseflesh or horses for human consumption.
The bill would impose penalties on persons who violate these
provisions.
You may be interested to know, I voted for an amendment offered
by Congressmen John Sweeney and John Spratt to H.R. 2744,
the FY 06 Agriculture Appropriations Act that also prevents
horse slaughter. This amendment prohibits the use of funds
in the bill to pay salaries and expenses of personnel to inspect
horses under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, which is required
before the horses can be sold. I voted for this amendment
on June 8, 2005, which passed by a vote of 269 to 158.
Horses are not just companions and recreational animals,
they are a vital part of our nation's culture and history.
I will continue to support efforts to prevent the slaughter
of horses for human consumption.
Downed Animal
Protection Act
I am an original cosponsor of H.R.
3931, the Downed Animal Protection Act. Animals
that are so sick they cannot walk should not be made to suffer
even more. By requiring such animals be "humanely euthanized,"
meaning the animal must be rapidly killed by mechanical, chemical
or some other means, the legislation will help end the suffering
of injured livestock.
I believe that unhealthy downed animals should never enter
the food chain.
These animals have an increased risk of bacterial contamination
and other diseases, including mad cow disease. The transportation
and handling of downed animals inflict undue suffering on
them.
Endangered Species
First enacted in 1973, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is
credited with preventing the immediate disappearance of more
than 1,000 wildlife species, including the bald eagle, grizzly
bear and Pacific salmon.
I support the preservation and protection of endangered species,
and I oppose efforts to weaken ESA.
I voted against H.R.
3824, Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005,
because I strongly support the preservation and protection
of endangered species, and oppose any efforts to weaken the
law. Regrettably, on September 29, 2005, H.R. 3824 passed
the House by a vote of 229 to 193.
TESRA makes it more difficult to list species as endangered
or threatened and sweeps away regulatory protections for those
that are listed as such. The bill also weakens the process
by which the government ensures its own actions do not jeopardize
species and creates a mandatory entitlement program for private
property owners, which is likely to be hugely expensive. Finally,
the bill appears to give the opinions of individuals without
any scientific expertise equal standing with those of scientists
and repeals protections against hazardous pesticides.
You may be interested to know, on September 22, 2005, I wrote
a letter along with 22 of my colleagues to former House Majority
Leader Tom Delay urging him to delay consideration of H.R.
3824, allowing time to carefully read the bill and understand
its ramifications. As you may know, the legislation was introduced,
marked up in committee and voted on all within two weeks.
During debate, I spoke against H.R. 3824 and in support of
an amendment in the nature of a substitute bill offered by
Congressmen George Miller and Sherry Boehlert. Unfortunately,
the amendment failed by a vote of 206 to 216. The amendment
would have prevented the creation of the mandatory entitlement
program for private property owners and restored the role
of science in the ESA. In my comments I stated:
The Endangered Species Act is working. According to the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 99 percent of the species
ever listed under the Endangered Species Act have been prevented
from going extinct, and 68 percent are stable or improving,
but the recovery plans in place may need 50 years to restore
these to relative abundance.
The Endangered Species Act has been a guiding force for the
preservation of species in danger of extinction for over 30
years, and it is vitally important we not alter it in any
way that could result in the layers of protection being compromised,
to the detriment of the species it was designed to protect.
I am hopeful we will be able to significantly modify the
legislation through negotiation with the Senate, which has
yet to consider this issue.
Wildlife
Protecting our environment is one of the most important jobs
I have as a congressman. I believe we have a responsibility
to protect America's last herd of free-roaming buffalo. This
is why I am a cosponsor of
H.R. 2428, the Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act.
H.R. 2428 would prohibit state and federal government agency
officials from hazing, capturing, or killing Yellowstone bison
on federal lands except when a person's life is in danger
or property has been damaged.
The bill states Yellowstone bison must be allowed to range
freely on federal lands to the immediate north and west of
the park. It also places management authority of bison within
Yellowstone under the sole jurisdiction of the National Park
Service.
I am an original cosponsor of H.R.
3442, the Inhumane Trapping Prevention Act, which
would ban the use of steel-jawed leghold traps on animals
in the United States. The traps are excessively cruel and
unselective -- often capturing both wild and domestic non-target
animals. Furthermore, because more humane alternatives exist,
the suffering inflicted by steel jaw leghold traps is oftentimes
unnecessary and avoidable.
Captive Wildlife
I am a cosponsor of H.R.
1329, the Captive Primate Safety Act, which prohibits
the sale of nonhuman primates - such as chimpanzees, monkeys,
lemurs and others - because I share your concern about holding
nonhuman primates as pets.
You may be interested to know, I was a cosponsor of H.R.
1006, the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, in the
108th Congress, which bars interstate and international trade
and transport of exotic cats, specifically of lions, tigers,
leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, and cougars. It is important
to note that the bill excludes licensed zoos, circuses, federally
licensed breeders and other licensed places like university
laboratories, veterinarians or animal shelters from these
provisions. Congress passed H.R. 1006 on December 8, 2003,
and the president signed the bill into law on December 19.
I believe that H.R. 1006 is a well-balanced piece of legislation
that places sensible restrictions on interstate and international
trade of big cats. I oppose the notion that big cats can be
held as pets, and I believe that preventing individuals from
purchasing exotic cats as pets will ultimately improve the
conditions under which these animals live.
Domestic Animals
I am a cosponsor of H.R.
2669, the Pet Animal Welfare Statute (PAWS),
which would strengthen enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act
(AWA) by requiring commercial breeders who annually sell more
than seven litters of dogs or cats, or sell more than 26 dogs
and cats directly to the public to be licensed by the United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA). I believe there are
other ways the Animal Welfare Act can be strengthened and
enforced.
I also am an original cosponsor of H.R.
5229, the Pet Safety and Protection Act, which
removes the incentive to procure animals through theft or
fraud by mandating that research facilities acquire dogs and
cats from licensed dealers, legal owners, or publicly-owned
and operated pounds or shelters. Penalties for violating these
provisions would be a minimum of $1,000 for each violation.
Animal Fighting
I am a cosponsor of H.R.
817, the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act,
because it increases the imprisonment penalty for animal fighting
violations from one year to two years. This legislation also
makes it unlawful to ship in interstate commerce a knife,
gaff, or other sharp instrument used in cockfighting.
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