Yesterday evening the Humane
Society Legislative Fund and The Humane Society of the United States hosted our
annual congressional Humane Awards, where we honored a bipartisan group of
legislators who led the way for animals during the last year.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., was honored with the
2012 Humane Legislator of the Year Award.
Nearly 50 members
of Congress plus staff members from dozens of other offices attended the event
in the U.S. Capitol, and we celebrated the federal lawmakers who are leading
the way to make the world a better place for animals. We even hosted a few
congressional dogs who joined the celebration, including Sebastian from the
office of Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., Cali from the office of Rep. Ken Calvert,
R-Calif., Bunker from the office of Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., and Maya from the
office of Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla.
The
top awards went to U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer,
D-Calif., and former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., who were honored as the
2012 Humane Legislators of the Year. The Humane Legislator of the Year
award recognizes federal lawmakers who have initiated path-breaking animal
protection legislation and demonstrably advanced reform in the policy-making
arena.
Sen.
Boxer was recognized for her leadership in fighting harmful legislation on
toxic lead in ammunition and on polar bear trophy imports, as well as securing
needed funding to strengthen U.S. Department of Agriculture enforcement of key
animal welfare laws, and advancing bills to protect primates and other wildlife
species:
- Leading a
successful effort to challenge legislation that would have prevented the
Environmental Protection Agency from taking action to address the devastating
effects of lead ammunition on wildlife and people – even tying the hands of
agency scientists to evaluate the associated risks – when many forms of
non-toxic ammunition are readily available and cost nearly the same. - Helping to
block an unneeded bailout for polar bear trophy hunters that would have encouraged
the continued reckless killing of imperiled species in other countries, as
hunters figured they could store the trophies in warehouses and simply wait for
their allies in Congress to get them a waiver on the imports in contravention
of laws such as the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection
Act. - Working to
get a bipartisan group of 35 Senators to join in seeking funding for USDA to
improve its oversight of puppy mills, laboratories, roadside zoos, circuses and
other regulated facilities; rein in the illegal “soring” of show horses (where
trainers inflict severe pain on the animals’ legs and hooves to make it hurt
them to step down, so they will exaggerate their high-stepping gait and win
prizes); strengthen enforcement of the humane slaughter law; prevent illegal
animal fighting; ease a shortage of veterinarians in rural areas and USDA
positions through student loan repayment; and help address the needs of animals
in disasters. - Introducing
legislation to prohibit interstate and foreign commerce in primates for the pet
trade (the Captive Primate Safety Act, S. 1324), guiding it to unanimous
approval in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which she
chairs. - Playing a
pivotal role in winning approval in committee for the Great Ape Protection and
Cost Savings Act (S. 810) to help chimpanzees who languish in barren but
expensive laboratory cages and should be retired to less costly and far more
humane sanctuary space. - Ensuring
committee approval of a host of other wildlife conservation measures, and
fending off a variety of anti-wildlife legislation.
Sen. Brown was honored for his
leadership in 2012 on legislation to strengthen the federal animal fighting
law, to prevent importation of polar bear trophies and live beluga whales, to
establish tougher penalties for violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act,
to provide more humane housing for egg-laying hens, and to end horse slaughter
for human consumption:
- Prime
sponsorship of the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act, S. 1947, to close
a loophole in the federal animal fighting law and make it a crime to attend or
take a child to a dogfight or cockfight. Spectators finance organized animal
fights and make them profitable with their admission fees and gambling wagers,
and they provide cover to animal fighters who blend into the crowd during law
enforcement raids. - Helping win
approval – by a vote of 88-11 – for the animal fighting legislation as an
amendment to the Senate Farm Bill, and being instrumental in getting S. 1947
passed by voice vote as a stand-alone bill. - Co-leading
efforts to remove a polar bear trophy import provision from the Sportsmen's Act
of 2012 (S. 3525), which would have allowed 41 wealthy trophy hunters to import
their sport-hunted polar bear trophies from Canada, despite polar bears being
listed as a threatened species. - Following
the illegal killing of grey seals on Cape Cod beaches, authoring the Marine
Mammal Protection Amendment Act, S. 1402, to increase fines from $20,000 to
$50,000 for knowingly killing or importing marine mammals. - Sending a
letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service opposing the importation of 18
wild-caught Beluga whales – who were to be transported across thousands of
miles at great risk – so that they could be exhibited at aquarium
facilities. - Original
cosponsorship of the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments, S. 3239, to
phase-out barren battery cages in the egg industry and improve the treatment of
hundreds of millions of egg-laying hens, as well as the American Horse
Slaughter Prevention Act, S.1176, to ban the slaughter of horses for human
consumption. - Cosponsoring
the Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act, S. 707, to crack down on
abusive large-scale puppy mills selling directly to the public via the Internet
or other means, by requiring them to be licensed and inspected under the Animal
Welfare Act, which regulates other commercial breeders, and sending a letter to
USDA urging the agency to expedite its proposed rule to regulate large-scale
commercial dog breeders selling puppies over the Internet.
In addition to the top
awards for Senators Boxer and Brown:
- Humane
Champion awards went to 28 legislators who took the lead on animal welfare
legislation or a letter to an agency and also received a perfect score on the 2012 Humane
Scorecard. - Legislative
Leader awards went to 87 legislators for their leadership as prime sponsors
of pro-animal legislation or a letter to an agency. - Humane
Advocate awards went to 29 legislators who received a perfect score on the
2012 Humane Scorecard.
In total, 146
legislators – one-third of the Senate and more than one-quarter of the House
(representing 38 states, three U.S. territories, and the District of
Columbia) – received awards for their work in 2012. I was especially pleased to
see so many of them promote their Humane Awards on Twitter. We’re grateful to all of
these members of Congress who are helping to forge a path to a more humane
future through their demonstrated leadership on animal protection legislation,
and we congratulate them as recipients of the 2012 Humane Awards.
