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. Scott Brown, R-Mass., in his bid for re-election to the U.S. Senate. Citing his strong support of animal protection policies in the Senate, the Humane Society Legislative Fund urges Massachusetts voters to support Brown.
“Scott Brown has demonstrated strong and effective leadership on animal protection policy issues, and is working to protect pets, farm animals, and wildlife from cruelty and abuse,” said Michael Markarian, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “Voters in Massachusetts who care about the humane treatment of animals should support Scott Brown’s re-election to the U.S. Senate.”
Brown has advocated for a number of federal policies to stop animal cruelty and abuse. Among his efforts, he has been:
- A lead sponsor of S. 1947, the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act, which would close a loophole in the federal animal fighting law and make it a crime for an adult to attend or take a child to a dogfight or cockfight. He helped to lead an amendment to the Farm Bill on this issue which passed the Senate by a vote of 88-11.
- The author of the Marine Mammal Protection Amendment Act, S. 1402, to increase fines from $20,000 to $50,000 for knowingly violating prohibitions against the taking or importation of marine mammals. Brown introduced the bill in response to the illegal killing of grey seals on Cape Cod beaches.
- An original co-sponsor of S. 3239, the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments, to ban the use of barren battery cages in the egg industry and improve the treatment of hundreds of millions of egg-laying hens.
- A co-sponsor of S. 707, the Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act, which cracks down on abusive large-scale commercial puppy mills selling dogs over the Internet with no oversight.
- An original co-cosponsor of S. 1176, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, which bans the slaughter of horses, including the export of live horses for slaughter in other countries, for human consumption.
- A supporter of 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.
- The author of a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture urging the agency to expedite a proposed rule that would regulate large-scale commercial dog breeders selling puppies over the Internet.
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.
