WASHINGTON (Oct. 2, 2012) -- The Humane Society Legislative Fund, the nation’s leading political advocacy organization for animal welfare, announces its endorsement of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., for re-election to the U.S. Senate. Citing her effective leadership and strong advocacy on animal protection policies throughout her tenure in the U.S. Senate, the Humane Society Legislative Fund urges voters in California to support Feinstein.
“Dianne Feinstein has one of the strongest career-long records of leadership on animal protection in the entire U.S. Congress,” said Michael Markarian, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “She has exhibited uncommon leadership on critical issues such as egg industry reform, aerial gunning of wolves, and the abuse of downer cows. She is standing up for the values of kindness and compassion, and California voters who support the humane treatment of animals should support Senator Feinstein.”
During her tenure in the U.S. Senate, among her many efforts, Feinstein has:
- Sponsored the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012, S. 3239, to extend some Prop 2 standards (to ban barren battery cages in the egg industry) to the entire nation, improving the treatment of hundreds of millions of egg-laying hens
- Sponsored the Downed Animal Enforcement Act of 2008, S. 2770, to strengthen the federal penalties for the slaughter of non-ambulatory livestock too sick or injured to stand or walk on their own
- Sponsored the Protect America's Wildlife (PAW) Act of 2009, S. 1535, to close a loophole in federal law that allows the shooting of wolves and other wildlife using airplanes and helicopters
- Sponsored the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2011, S. 1211, to phase out the routine non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in farm animals – a common practice to promote growth and compensate for overcrowded, stressful, unsanitary conditions on factory farms – in order to maintain the effectiveness of antibiotics for treating sick people and animals
- Co-sponsored the Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act, S. 707, to crack down on abusive “puppy mills” in the U.S., where breeding dogs are often stacked in wire cages for years to produce litter after litter, without exercise, veterinary care, socialization or human companionship
- Co-sponsored the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, S. 1176, which bans the slaughter of horses, including the export of live horses for slaughter in other countries, for human consumption
- Co-sponsored the Captive Primate Safety Act, S. 1324, to prohibit the interstate commerce in chimpanzees and other primates for the exotic pet trade, which poses a danger to animal welfare and to public health and safety
- Voted for an amendment to save taxpayer dollars by limiting subsidies to massive factory farms, which thrive on taxpayer giveaways that keep animal feed artificially cheap, jeopardize public health, the environment, and animal welfare, while also driving smaller and more humane, sustainable family farms out of business
- Supported efforts to provide adequate funding for the enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, Horse Protection Act, Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, and federal animal fighting law, as well as for programs to address the needs of animals in disasters and to ease a shortage of veterinarians in rural and inner-city areas and USDA positions through student loan forgiveness
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.
Paid for by Humane Society Legislative Fund and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. HSLF, 1255 23rd Street, NW, Suite 455, Washington, DC 20037.
