WASHINGTON (Oct. 9, 2012) -- The Humane Society Legislative Fund, the nation’s leading political advocacy organization for animal welfare, announces its endorsement of U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., for re-election to U.S. Senate. Citing her strong leadership and support of animal protection policies, the Humane Society Legislative Fund urges Washington voters to support Maria Cantwell.
“Maria Cantwell has one of the strongest records of leadership in the U.S. Senate on animal protection issues, and is fighting to protect pets, farm animals, and wildlife from cruelty and abuse,” said Michael Markarian, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “Animal protection advocates depend on the extraordinary leadership of Senator Cantwell, and voters in Washington who care about these issues should support her re-election to the U.S. Senate.”
Among her many efforts, Cantwell has:
- Sponsored the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act, S. 1947, and led an effort to include a provision in the 2012 Farm Bill to close a loophole in the federal animal fighting law by making it a crime to attend or take a child to a dogfight or cockfight (S.Amdt. 2363/S. 3240)
- Sponsored the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act, S.810, to phase out the use of chimpanzees in invasive research, retire federally-owned chimpanzees to sanctuary, and save millions of taxpayer dollars
- Co-sponsored the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012, S. 3239, to ban barren battery cages in the egg industry and improve the treatment of hundreds of millions of laying hens
- Co-sponsored the Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act, S. 707, to protect dogs and crack down on large-scale puppy mill abuses
- Sponsored the Animal Fighting Enforcement Prohibition Act, which was signed into law in 2007 and strengthened the penalties for illegal dogfighting and cockfighting, making it a felony to transport animals across state lines for these gruesome and barbaric fights (S.261)
- Co-sponsored the Downed Animal and Food Safety Protection Act, S. 394, to require humane euthanasia of livestock too sick or injured to walk and to prohibit U.S. Department of Agriculture certification of meat from such animals for human consumption
- Co-sponsored the Truth in Fur Labeling Act to require accurate labeling of all garments trimmed with animal fur so consumers are not deceived into believing the apparel is faux fur (S.1076/P.L. 111-313)
- Co-sponsored the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act, S. 619, 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
- Voted 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 (S.Amdt. 791/H.R. 2112)
- 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 contacts: Stephanie Twining, (301) 258-1491, stwining@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.
