Legislation and Initiatives

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Legislation and Initiatives
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A Growing Body of Animal Law

• Nationwide trend focused on the strengthening of
  animal protection laws.
  
• In 2005 alone, there were more than 200 animal
  protection bills introduced in state
  legislatures.
  
• All 50 states have anti-cruelty laws, and in 42
  states (plus D.C. and the Virgin Islands), some
  acts of animal cruelty are felony offenses.
  

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Between 1999 and 2003, there were over thirty new
animal protection laws

• In Pennsylvania, the legislature ratified a ban
  on greyhound racing.
  
• In Iowa, elected representatives outlawed the
  giving away of animals as prizes.
  
• In New York, the assembly passed a ban on the
  keeping of exotics as pets.
  
• In California, legislators approved a bill to
  phase out and prohibit the force-feeding of ducks
  and geese in foie gras production.
  
• Just recently, Virginia became the first state to
  ban internet hunting.

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More than a Dozen Successful Ballot Initiatives

• 17 successful ballot initiatives at the state
  level in the last decade.
  
• Outlawed cockfighting in two states (Missouri and
  Oklahoma).
  
• Stopped hound hunting of bears and other
  predators in four states (Colorado,
  Massachusetts, Oregon, and Washington).
  
• Halted bear baiting in four states.
• Restricted the use of steel-jawed leghold traps
  in five states (Arizona, California, Colorado,
  Massachusetts, and Washington).
  
• Halted the use of gestation crates for pregnant
  pigs in one state (Florida).

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Legal Challenges to Animal Protection Laws and
Initiatives

• Success in enacting new laws triggering
  challenges.
  
• Bumping up against limits on state and federal
  lawmaking authority.
  
• Statutes and Initiatives being challenged on
  numerous Constitutional grounds.

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Current Federal Bills

• In the past few years Congress has passed
  measures to
  
• Strengthen the federal animal fighting law
• Ban the sale through the Internet of videos
  depicting animal cruelty
  
• Ban the transport of big cats for the pet trade.
  
  
• More than a dozen pending bills in the 109th
  Congress

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• Animal Fighting S. 382/H.R. 817
• Sens. Ensign (R-NV), Specter (R-PA), and
  Cantwell (D-WA) and Reps Green (R-WI), Bartlett
  (R-MD) and Andrews (D-NJ)
  
• Congress banned the transport of birds for
  cockfighting in 2002. This bill will reinstate
  felony penalties for animal fighting that were
  stripped in conference. S. 382 recently passed in
  the Senate.

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Wild Horse Protection S. 576/H.R. 297

• The Burns amendment to last
• years omnibus appropriations bill removed
  protections enacted in 1971 preventing sale for
  slaughter
  
• Senator Byrd (D-WV) and Reps. Rahall (D-WV) and
  Whitfield (R-KY) have introduced legislation to
  prohibit commercial sale of wild horses,
  reinstating protections.

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Horse Slaughter Prevention Act
Representives Sweeney (R-NY) and Spratt (D-SC)
introduced HR 503 and Senator Ensign (R-NV) is
expected to introduce a Senate companion bill
-The bill prohibits slaughter, import, export, t
rade, and transport of all horses for human
consumption. -There is no domestic demand for hor
se meat and all three horse slaughterhouses in
the U.S. are foreign owned.
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Pet Animal Welfare Statute (PAWS)H.R. 2669/S.
1139

• Sens Santorum (R-PA) and Durbin (D-IL) and Reps
  Gerlach (R-PA) and Farr (D-CA) have introduced
  legislation ensuring that all large-scale
  breeders are covered by the Animal Welfare Act.
• Thousands of puppies are warehoused in facilities
  with improper care and no oversight
  
• Unwary consumers discover purchase puppies from
  breeders who use the internet to evade current
  law. They discover problems after their purchase
  leading to heartbreak and shelter overload.

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S. Res. 33 Senator Levin (D-MI)

• - Condemns Canadas massive and brutal baby
  seal slaughter
  
• Recently passed out of committee
• Useful complement to larger campaign by
  generating media and pressure on Canadian
  government
  

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Primate Protection H.R. 1329/S.

• Reps E.B. Johnson (D-TX) and Simmons (R-CT)
  recently introduced H.R. 1329 to prohibit the
  interstate commerce of primates for the pet
  trade
• Sens Jeffords (I-VT) and Chafee (R-RI) will
  introduce companion legislation in the Senate
  
• The bill addresses humane concerns as well as
  public health and welfare issues

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Antifreeze LegislationH.R. 2567/S. 1110

• Every year, animals and children suffer and die
  from antifreeze poisoning
  
• Reps Ackerman (D-NY) and Rohrabacher (R-CA) have
  reintroduced legislation requiring the addition
  of a bittering agent to antifreeze and engine
  coolants to render them unpalatable
• Senators Allen (R-VA) and Pryor (D-AR) have
  introduced a senate companion bill and a hearing
  is scheduled for July 18 (10am, Russell Building,
  room 253)

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Canned Hunt BillH.R. 1688/S. 304

• Senator Lautenberg (D-NJ) has introduced S. 304
  to prevent guaranteed-kill hunts on penned exotic
  wildlife
  
• Reps Shays (R-CT) and Farr (D-CA) have introduced
  H.R. 1688, a House companion bill
  

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Poultry Slaughter

• 95 of the animals slaughtered for food in the
  U.S.chickens, turkeys, and ducksare not covered
  by the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.
  
• Working with AVMA and industry groups to draft
  language adding humane slaughter of poultry.

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Downed Animals

• In 2003, the Department of Agriculture announced
  a ban on the sale of downed cowsthose who are
  too sick or injured to walk and are often dragged
  to slaughterfor human consumption.
• A downed cow from Canada had tested positive for
  BSE (mad cow disease), and the new regulation
  reduced animal suffering and protected the public
  from exposure to this deadly disease.
• Although there have recently been two additional
  cases of mad cow disease in Canada, both
  involving downers, some in Congress and the
  agricultural industry continue to call for
  weakening the ban.

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Yellowstone Bison Protection Act - H.R. 2428
Reps Hinchey (D-NY) and Bass (R-NH) have
reintroduced legislation to prohibit killing of
Yellowstone bison and require implementation of
non-lethal conflict resolution strategies.
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Appropriations amendments for FY2006

• In a landslide victory, the Rahall-Whitfield wild
  horse amendment to interior appropriations passed
  in the House by 249-159 on May 19
  
• The Sweeney-Spratt horse slaughter amendment to
  agriculture appropriations passed 269-158 on June
  8
  
• Must pass in the Senate and will only affect
  FY2006

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Animal Welfare Act Enforcement Funding

• Millions of animals in over 10,000 facilities are
  covered by the Animal Welfare Act (zoos, labs,
  breeding facilities, circuses, airlines)
  
• Yet there are still approximately 100 inspectors
• So, well keep pressing for more

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State Bills

• This year, internet hunting bills are a new
  trend with 19 introduced and 10 passed or sent to
  governors.
  
• Virgin Islands recently passed a stronger
  (felony) cruelty bill, along with Washington and
  West Virginia.
  
• Other topics for state legislation include
  spay/neuter, humane euthanasia, cruel
  hunting/trapping practices, exotic wildlife.