New Renacci TV Ad Talks about Puppies, but Not His Record on Animal Issues
WASHINGTON (Oct. 12, 2012) -- In a new TV ad called “The Difference” by the Jim Renacci for Congress campaign, Renacci begins, “If you watch TV much, you probably think Betty Sutton and I both hate puppies and grandmothers too.” In response to the ad, the Humane Society Legislative Fund, the nation’s leading political advocacy organization for animal welfare, points out that Rep. Jim Renacci has one of the worst records on animal protection issues in the entire Congress.
“We don’t know about grandmothers, but when it comes to puppies and other animals, the records of Jim Renacci and Betty Sutton could not be any more different,” said Michael Markarian, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “Betty Sutton has been a leader in fighting against animal cruelty and abuse, and Jim Renacci has either stood on the sidelines or opposed modest animal welfare reforms.”
Renacci scored a zero out of 100 percent on the Humane Scorecard for the 112th Congress, failing to support a single animal welfare policy and voting against every animal welfare measure that came to the House floor. Renacci has:
- Voted to allow American trophy hunters to import the heads and hides of polar bears killed for sport in the Arctic, even though polar bears are listed as a threatened species (H.R. 4089, Peters Amendment)
- Voted twice to waste taxpayer dollars on 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 (H.R. 1, Blumenauer Amendment and H.R. 2112, Flake Amendment)
- Voted to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on the use of aerial gunning, toxic poisons, steel-jawed leghold traps and other inhumane methods of killing predators as a subsidy for private livestock ranchers (H.R. 2112, Campbell Amendment)
- Voted for a devastating “extinction rider” that would have weakened the Endangered Species Act by preventing the listing of imperiled species and designation of critical habitat (H.R. 2584, Dicks Amendment)
- Not co-sponsored any of the bills to crack down on puppy mills, dogfighting, or other abuses
In contrast, Sutton scored a 100+ (the highest possible rating) on the Humane Scorecard, and has been a leading champion for animal protection in Congress, helping to enact a number of new federal policies to stop animal cruelty and abuse. Among her efforts, Sutton has:
- 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 take a child to a dogfight or cockfight
- Co-sponsored the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012, H.R. 3798, to ban barren battery cages in the egg industry and improve the treatment of hundreds of millions of laying hens
- Co-sponsored the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act, H.R. 1513, 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 Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act, H.R. 835, to protect dogs and crack down on large-scale puppy mill abuses
- Co-sponsored legislation to ban commerce in videos showing the intentional torture of puppies, kittens and other live animals for the sexual titillation of viewers (H.R. 5092)
- Sponsored legislation that was incorporated into the 2008 Farm Bill, strengthening the federal law against dogfighting and cockfighting by increasing the felony-level penalties and banning the possession and training of fighting animals
- Supported efforts in Ohio to crack down on the private ownership of dangerous wild animals as pets
- Co-sponsored the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, H.R. 2966, to prohibit the long-distance transport (including export) of horses for slaughter for human consumption in other countries where horse meat is considered a delicacy
- As a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, co-sponsored and helped to pass 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 (H.R. 2480/P.L. 111-313)
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.
