WASHINGTON (October 3, 2016)—The Humane Society Legislative Fund, the nation’s leading political advocacy organization for animal welfare, announces its endorsement of Josh Gottheimer, D-New Jersey, for election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Citing his strong support for animal protection policies, the HSLF urges residents of New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District to vote for Mr. Gottheimer in the upcoming general election.
Gottheimer’s opponent, incumbent Rep. Scott Garrett, has one of the worst animal welfare records in Congress, earning a “0” in the HSLF’s 2015 Humane Scorecard, and a “10.1” average over the course of his congressional career. In prior sessions, his scores were “10,” “14,” “8,” “13,” “18” and “8.”
"It’s hard to believe that Rep Garrett is so consistently out of touch on animal welfare issues—aligning himself with dogfighters and trophy hunters targeting endangered species," said Sara Amundson, executive director of the HSLF. "Garrett even opposed efforts to help pets and people in disaster planning. Voters in the 5th District who care about the humane treatment of animals could not have a sharper contrast and should vote for Josh Gottheimer."
Garrett has routinely taken the anti-animal position on votes in Congress, including:
- Voting against the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act (PETS) (H.R. 3858) which established a national policy of including pets and service animals in disaster planning. The bill passed almost unanimously in the House by a vote of 349 to 24 and was unanimously approved in the Senate.
- Voting against the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act (H.R. 137) which was signed into law in 2007 and strengthened the penalties for illegal dogfighting and cockfighting, making it a felony to transport animals across state lines for these gruesome and barbaric fights.
- Voting against the Captive Primate Safety Act (H.R. 80) to prohibit the interstate commerce in chimpanzees and other primates for the exotic pet trade, which poses a danger to animal welfare and to public health and safety.
- Voting against an amendment 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).
- Voting against congressional efforts to protect marine turtles (H.R. 509), sea otters (H.R. 556), wild horses (H.R. 1018), cranes (H.R. 388), great cats and rare canids (H.R. 411).
Media Contact: John Cleveland, (202) 676-2338, jcleveland@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.
