WASHINGTON (Oct. 20, 2014) -- The Humane Society Legislative Fund, the nation’s leading political advocacy organization for animal welfare, announces its endorsement of Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., for re-election to the House of Representatives. Citing her strong leadership and advocacy on animal protection policies, the HSLF urges voters in New York’s 6th Congressional District to support Rep. Meng in November’s general election.
“Grace Meng has been a champion of animal protection. She’s been a leading voice calling for an end to ivory poaching and crackdown on cruel shark finning,” said Sara Amundson, executive director of the HSLF. “Voters in the 6th District who care about the humane treatment of animals should support Grace Meng for Congress.”
Among her efforts in the 113th Congress, Rep. Meng:
- Co-sponsored a resolution (H.Res.285) urging the United States to ban and prevent the import of shark fins from sharks caught through the brutal practice of “finning”—in which sharks have their fins cut off at sea, often while still alive, and suffer and die just for a bowl of soup.; led efforts to ensure that state laws barring the trade in shark fins are not preempted.
- Led a group letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture urging the agency to close a loophole in federal regulations that allows downer veal calves—those too sick, injured or weak to stand on their own—to be abused and slaughtered for food.
- Authored letters to the leadership of the New York state legislature urging them to pass a historic bill banning the sale and purchase of elephant ivory and rhino horn.
- Co-authored a letter requesting adequate funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development’s international conservation programs, including anti-poaching and wildlife trafficking.
- Co-sponsored the Prevent All Soring Tactics Act (H.R.1518) to strengthen the federal law against the “soring” of show horses—using caustic chemicals and other painful substances to injure the horses’ hooves and legs to induce a high-stepping gait.
- Co-sponsored the Captive Primate Safety Act (H.R.2856) to prohibit the interstate commerce in chimpanzees and other primates in the exotic pet trade, which poses a danger to animal welfare and to public health and safety.
- Co-sponsored the Safeguard American Food Exports Act (H.R.1094) to prohibit the slaughter and export of horses for human consumption overseas.
- Co-sponsored of 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 Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act (H.R.366) which was included in the 2014 Farm Bill, making it a federal crime to attend or bring a child to a dogfight or cockfight.
- Signed a group letter opposing the dangerous and overreaching “King amendment,” which threatened to nullify hundreds of state and local laws on food safety, animal welfare and agriculture. The amendment was nixed from the 2014 Farm Bill.
- 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: Martin Montorfano, (202) 676-2347, mmontorfano@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.
