WASHINGTON (May 29, 2013) -- The Humane Society Legislative Fund, the nation’s leading political advocacy organization for animal welfare, announces its endorsement of U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., in Massachusetts’ special election for U.S. Senate. Citing his strong support of animal protection policies, the Humane Society Legislative Fund urges Massachusetts voters to support Ed Markey.
“Ed Markey has demonstrated a strong commitment to protecting animals from cruelty and abuse,” said Sara Amundson, executive director of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “He has consistently stood up for the values of kindness and compassion and we urge voters who care about the humane treatment of animals to support Ed Markey.”
Markey has supported a number of federal policies to stop animal cruelty and abuse. Among his efforts, Markey has:
- Called on former Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar to ban the international commercial trade of polar bear parts and called for stronger protections for bears from trophy hunting as ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee
- Opposed a bill that would have removed protections for sea lions (H.R. 3069)
- Co-sponsored the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments, H.R. 1731, to ban barren battery cages in the egg industry and improve the treatment of hundreds of millions of laying hens
- Co-sponsored the Safeguard American Food Exports Act, H.R. 1094, to prohibit the sale or transport of equines and equine parts in interstate or foreign commerce for human consumption
- Co-sponsored the Prevent All Soring Tactics Act, H.R. 1518, to eliminate the abusive act of soring horses by improving the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s enforcement capabilities and strengthening penalties against violators, among other provisions
- 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 Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act, H.R. 2492, to close a loophole in the federal animal fighting law by establishing penalties for attending or bringing a child to a dogfight or cockfight
- Co-sponsored the Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act, H.R. 835, to protect dogs and consumers by cracking down on large-scale puppy mill abuses
- 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 (H.AMDT.124/H.R.1 and H.AMDT. 478/H.R. 2112)
- Voted to save millions of taxpayer dollars by reducing the use of toxic poisons and other inhumane methods of killing predators as a subsidy for private livestock ranchers (H.AMDT.471/H.R.2112)
- Opposed 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.AMDT.735/H.R.2584)
- Voted to protect threatened polar bears in the Arctic and prevent the import of sport-hunted polar bear trophies from Canada (H.AMDT.1008/H.R. 4089)
- Opposed the Sportsmen’s Heritage Act, a $12 million package that would overturn key protections for threatened polar bears, expose federal lands to sport hunting, and strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its ability to protect wildlife, habitat and people from lead poisoning through exposure to toxic ammunition (H.R. 4089)
- 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 at the U.S. Department of Agriculture through student loan forgiveness
Media contact: Raul Arce-Contreras, (301) 721-6440, hslfrcontreras@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.
