WASHINGTON (Nov. 26, 2014)—The Humane Society Legislative Fund, the nation’s leading political advocacy organization for animal welfare, announced the launch of a new television advertising campaign urging Louisiana voters to re-elect Mary Landrieu, D-La., to the U.S. Senate. The ad begins airing on Thanksgiving Day and will run through the Dec. 6 runoff election.
“Mary Landrieu has been an effective leader in blocking cruelties such as the killing of companion horses for human consumption and working to crack down on puppy mills and animal fighting,” said Michael Markarian, president of HSLF. “She’s stood up for the values of kindness and compassion and will continue this important work to protect Louisiana families and their pets in the U.S. Senate.”
The HSLF publishes an annual Humane Scorecard of Congress to give voters a snapshot of every federal legislator's record on animal protection issues; Sen. Landrieu three times achieved a perfect score of 100 for votes in favor of animal welfare measures before the U.S. Senate. Sen. Landrieu was also awarded the HSLF’s Legislator of the Year Award in 2013, as well as The Humane Society of the United States’ 2011 Humane Horsewoman of the Year award.
In Congress, Sen. Landrieu has advocated for a number of common-sense animal protection policies, including:
- Served as a prime sponsor of the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act (S.541) to prohibit the slaughter and export of horses for human consumption overseas.
- Supported legislation to ban commerce in animal “crush” videos showing the intentional torture of puppies, kittens and other live animals for the sexual pleasure of viewers (P.L.111-294).
- Co-sponsored the Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act (S.395) to protect dogs and consumers by cracking down on large-scale puppy mill abuses.
- Co-sponsored the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act (S.666), which was included in the 2014 Farm Bill, making it a federal crime to attend or bring a child to a dogfight or cockfight.
- Co-sponsored the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act (S.1406) 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 Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments (S.820) to ban barren battery cages in the egg industry and improve the treatment of hundreds of millions of laying hens.
- Co-sponsored the Captive Primate Safety Act (S.1463) 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.
- Sponsored a successful Agriculture Appropriations amendment to bar USDA expenditures on horse slaughter inspection to prevent any efforts to spend tax dollars allowing the resumption of horse slaughter for human consumption on U.S. soil.
- Co-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, and 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.
- Supported efforts to assist in the permanent placement of government-owned chimpanzees retired from research laboratories to the national chimpanzee sanctuary system at Louisiana-based Chimp Haven, and to give the National Institutes of Health the much-needed flexibility within its budget to continue funding these less-costly sanctuaries. Facilities such as Chimp Haven provide better care to chimps and save taxpayer dollars.
HSLF makes endorsements based on candidates’ records or positions on animal issues rather than on political party or affiliation.
Media Contact: Anna West, 240-751-2669, awest@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.
