WASHINGTON (October 10, 2016)—The Humane Society Legislative Fund, the nation’s leading political advocacy organization for animal welfare, announces its endorsement of Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Illinois, for re-election to the U.S. Senate. Citing his strong leadership and advocacy on animal protection policies, the HSLF urges voters in Illinois to support Sen. Kirk in November’s general election.
“Mark Kirk believes that all animals should be treated humanely and without cruelty,” said Sara Amundson, executive director of the HSLF. “Voters in Illinois who care about animal welfare should support Sen. Kirk for re-election.”
Sen. Kirk received a perfect score of “100” in HSLF’s 2015 Humane Scorecard, which grades legislators based on their support for animal protection legislation. He led efforts to stop the use of tax dollars to fund horse slaughter plants, and introduced legislation to prohibit the unsafe transport of horses in dangerous double-decker trailers. In the past, Sen. Kirk joined a bipartisan group of senators in sponsoring the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act to ban attending, and bringing children to, animal fights. The language was included in the 2014 Farm Bill.
Among his other efforts in the 114th Congress, Sen. Kirk:
- Sponsored the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act (S. 1214), to prohibit the slaughter and export of horses for human consumption overseas;
- Cosponsored the Prevent Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act (S. 1831) to make malicious animal cruelty a crime on federal property and in interstate commerce, and complement the state anti-cruelty laws;
- Cosponsored the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act (S. 1121), to strengthen the federal law against the “soring” of show horses—using caustic chemicals and other painful substances to injure horses’ hooves and legs to induce an artificially high-stepping gait;
- Supported funding for 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 USDA positions through student loan forgiveness.
HSLF notes that Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., has also been a strong supporter of animal protection, cosponsoring a wide range of bills to protect animals and consistently gaining high marks on the Humane Scorecard.
Media Contact: John Cleveland, (202) 676-2338, jcleveland@hslf.org
###
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.
