Last night, the Humane Society Legislative Fund and The Humane Society of the United States co-hosted the annual Congressional Humane Awards to honor a bipartisan group of lawmakers who led the way for animals during the last year. Dozens of Senators and Representatives plus staff members from additional offices attended the event in the U.S. Capitol to celebrate the federal lawmakers who are working to make the world a better place for animals.
Photo courtesy of Sen. Stabenow's office
2018 Legislator of the Year Sen. Stabenow, center,
pictured with HSLF President Sara Amundson,
to the left,and HSUS President and CEO Kitty Block,
to the right.
The top awards this year went to Senators Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., Mike Conaway, R-Texas, and Collin Peterson, D-Minn., who were honored as the 2018 Humane Legislators of the Year for their work on key animal protection measures in the Farm Bill. The Humane Legislator of the Year award recognizes federal lawmakers who have achieved path-breaking reforms for animals through federal legislation.
In 2018, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Conaway and Ranking Member Peterson played pivotal roles on four key victories in the multi-year Farm Bill signed into law in December (P.L. 115-334):
- King Amendment – Most importantly, the final package excluded the disastrous amendment tacked onto the House Farm Bill in committee by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa). This amendment threatened countless state and local laws, including laws addressing horse and dog meat, extreme confinement of farm animals, puppy mills, and the sale of shark fins, as well as a range of other concerns such as food safety, child labor, opioids, pesticide exposure, fire-safe cigarettes, manure management, and handling of diseased livestock. The King amendment generated overwhelming opposition by a diverse coalition of more than 220 groups and 600 individual government officials, veterinary professionals, farmers, legal experts, faith leaders, and citizens across the political spectrum who took a public stance against this measure.
- Pets and Domestic Violence – Senators Roberts and Stabenow included in their initial Senate Farm Bill a provision mirroring the Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act (S. 322/H.R. 909 in the 115th Congress), which was sustained in the final package. This extends federal domestic violence protections to include pets and authorizes grant money to help domestic violence shelters and other entities accommodate pets or arrange for pet shelter. Currently, only 3 percent of these shelters allow pets. Research shows that abusers often threaten or inflict violence on pets as a way to intimidate or control their partners and prevent them from leaving. The measure enjoyed the support of a broad network of domestic violence, law enforcement, veterinary, and animal welfare organizations.
- Animal Fighting – The final package included an amendment passed on the House floor by a 359-51 vote to clarify that federal prohibitions against dogfighting and cockfighting activity apply to all U.S. jurisdictions, including U.S. territories. This amendment mirrored the Parity in Animal Cruelty Enforcement (PACE) Act (H.R. 4202/S. 2971). It will help protect animals from vicious cruelty, protect communities from criminal activity often linked to animal fighting such as drug trafficking and gang violence, reduce threats to public health and the food supply from transmission of bird flu and other illnesses such as the current outbreak of virulent Newcastle disease, and enhance enforcement of the federal animal fighting law across the U.S.
- Dog and Cat Meat – The House Committee and the Senate approved amendments based on the Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act (H.R. 1406). The final Farm Bill prohibits the domestic slaughter, trade, and import/export of dogs and cats for human consumption, preventing an appalling trade from taking hold in the U.S. and strengthening our standing to end it worldwide. Around 30 million dogs and untold numbers of cats are the victims of this brutal industry globally every year, with animals often snatched off the street or stolen from loving families, still wearing collars, and subjected to unspeakable abuse only to end up on someone’s dinner plate.
Photo courtesy of Bill Petros
Sen. Toomey, pictured center with
HSUS President and CEO Kitty Block, to the left,
and HSLF President Sara Amundson, to the right,
was named a Legislative Leader.
Senator Stabenow received the 2014 Legislator of the Year Award, too, for her leadership on that year’s Farm Bill—keeping the King amendment out and strengthening federal animal fighting law by prohibiting knowing attendance at an organized animal fight or bringing a child to such an event—as well as her work to end intensive confinement of laying hens in battery cages. In 2018, she also sent a letter to the Secretary of Agriculture voicing concern about USDA’s website purge of inspection reports and other enforcement records under the Animal Welfare Act and the Horse Protection Act.
Representative Peterson was the lead sponsor of legislation in the 107th Congress that he got enacted as part of the 2002 Farm Bill to crack down on animal fighting. Those provisions closed loopholes that allowed the interstate shipment of fighting birds and export of fighting birds and dogs and strengthened penalties for animal fighting violations.
In addition to honoring Senators Roberts and Stabenow and Representatives Conaway and Peterson, HSLF and the HSUS recognized a broader, bipartisan group of outstanding lawmakers based on their leadership on animal protection issues and their ratings on the 2018 Humane Scorecard. In total, 173 legislators—45 Senators and 128 Representatives and Delegates (representing 40 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and Virgin Islands)—were honored for their work in 2018. The animal protection community is grateful to all of these Members of Congress who are helping to forge a path to a more humane future through their demonstrated leadership. Congratulations to the recipients of the 2018 Humane Awards.
