WASHINGTON (Oct. 29, 2012) -- The Humane Society Legislative Fund, the nation’s leading political advocacy organization for animal welfare, announces its endorsement of U.S. Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., in the new 10th Congressional District of California. Citing his leadership on an egg industry reform bill, as well as other animal welfare reforms, the Humane Society Legislative Fund asks voters in the newly drawn 10th Congressional District of California to return him to Congress for a second term.
“Jeff Denham has helped build consensus between animal protection and egg industry organizations, and he is a co-author of the bill to increase space allotments for laying hens,” said Michael Markarian, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. This legislation comes in the wake of the passage of Proposition 2 in California in November 2008, which stipulated that laying hens be allowed to “stand up, lie down, turn around, and freely extend their limbs.” H.R. 3798 would extend some of the most critical Prop 2 standards to the entire nation, including the ban on barren battery cages, improving the treatment of hundreds of millions of egg-laying hens.
Additionally, Denham co-sponsored the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act, H.R. 2492, to close a loophole in the federal animal fighting law by making it a crime to attend or bring a child to a dogfight or cockfight. Denham supported similar legislation to increase penalties related to animal fighting during his tenure in the California State Legislature.
As a California State Senator, Jeff Denham:
- Voted for a bill to increase penalties for spectators at staged dogfighting exhibitions (AB 242)
- Voted for a bill to require judges to prohibit felons convicted of animal cruelty from owning animals for a period of time (AB 243)
- Voted for a bill to increase fines and possible jail time for those convicted of felony animal neglect to levels consistent with penalties for felony animal abuse (AB 2012)
- Voted for a bill that supported federal legislation to protect horses in America from slaughter for human consumption (SJR 22)
- Voted for a bill to establish minimum poaching fines/imprisonment penalties and allow for the suspension/revocation of hunting licenses and forfeiture of assets for repeat offenders (AB 708)
- Voted for a bill to allow property forfeiture of anyone found guilty of violating dogfighting laws with proceeds going to animal and law enforcement agencies (SB 318)
Media contact: Heather Sullivan, (301) 548-7778, hsullivan@hslf.org
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HSLF is a nonpartisan organization that evaluates candidates based only on a single criterion: where they stand on animal welfare. HSLF does not judge candidates based on party affiliation or any other issue.
The Humane Society Legislative Fund is a social welfare organization incorporated under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code and formed in 2004 as a separate lobbying affiliate of The Humane Society of the United States. The HSLF works to pass animal protection laws at the state and federal level, to educate the public about animal protection issues, and to support humane candidates for office. Visit us on all our channels: on the web at hslf.org, on our blog at animalsandpolitics.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/humanelegislation and on Twitter at twitter.com/HSLegFund.
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