WASHINGTON (Feb. 25, 2016) -- The Humane Society Legislative Fund, the nation’s leading political advocacy organization for animal welfare, announces its endorsement of Kamala Harris for election to the U.S. Senate open seat in California. Citing her effective leadership and strong advocacy on animal protection policies throughout her tenure as the California Attorney General, the Humane Society Legislative Fund urges voters in California to support Harris.
“Kamala Harris has one of the strongest records of leadership on animal protection as a state Attorney General,” said Sara Amundson, executive director of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “She has worked to defend the state’s laws to protect sharks from the brutal practice of finning and to end the era of extreme confinement of animals on industrial factory farms. She is standing up for the values of kindness and compassion, and California voters who support the humane treatment of animals should support Kamala Harris.”
During her time in public service, among her many efforts, Harris has:
- Been on the winning side of four separate challenges to Prop 2, the voter-approved ballot measure banning extreme confinement of farm animals in small cages on factory farms, and AB 1437, the bill to apply that same standard to shell eggs sold in the state.
- Successfully defeated a challenge to California’s ban on the possession and sale of shark fins, a law passed to help reduce the demand for cutting off sharks’ fins at sea and leaving them to die slowly in the oceans.
- Appealed the federal court ruling that struck down California’s ban on the sale of foie gras, produced through the inhumane force-feeding of ducks and geese.
- Supported a law that allows judges to include a family’s pets in protective orders in domestic violence cases.
Retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer has been a champion for animal welfare issues during her long career. She received a Humane Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002 and was named the Legislator of the Year in 2012. Since 2010, she has led the charge on securing funding for USDA enforcement of key animal welfare laws, an effort that has yielded stronger oversight of slaughter plants, horse shows, puppy mills, laboratories, zoos, circuses, and other regulated entities, and has helped crackdown on illegal animal fighting, ease the shortage of veterinarians in rural areas and USDA inspection positions, and better meet the needs of animals in disasters. She has been a leading voice for wildlife and habitat, guiding important bills through the Environment and Public Works Committee and fending off a variety of anti-wildlife legislation. For example, she has led Senate efforts to address climate change, urged President Obama and her colleagues to maintain protections for endangered species, challenged harmful provisions subjecting wildlife and people to lead poisoning through exposure to toxic ammunition, pressed for updated regulations for the care of captive marine mammals, and played a pivotal role in getting chimpanzees transferred from barren laboratory cages to humane sanctuaries.
HSLF notes that Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., has also been a strong supporter of animal protection, co-sponsored a wide range of bills to protect animals and consistently gains high marks on the Humane Scorecard.
Media contact: Stephanie Twining, stwining@hslf.org, 301-258-1491
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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.
