WASHINGTON (October 10, 2023)—Today, the Humane Society Legislative Fund, the nation’s leading political advocacy organization for animal protection, announced its 2023 endorsements for candidates running for the Virginia General Assembly, which can be found here.
HSLF considers endorsement by examining candidates’ campaign commitments and incumbents’ legislative record. As a non-partisan organization, HSLF only considers a candidate’s stance on animal protection and electability when evaluating them for endorsement.
“We encourage voters in Virginia who care about animals to have their voices heard in this election by supporting humane candidates for office,” said Brad Pyle, Political Director of Humane Society Legislative Fund. “Progress on animal protection legislation in the Commonwealth wouldn’t be possible without the continued efforts of Virginia's elected leaders.”
Every incumbent candidate HSLF endorsed this year supported the key animal protection bill SB 1271/HB 2348, related to animal testing facilities and public notices. Effective as of July 2023, this law requires all publicly funded Virginia animal testing facilities to make inspection reports publicly available and to publish annual reports online. These reports indicate whether or not testing facilities are complying with the standards of the federal Animal Welfare Act. SB 1271/HB 2348 is included on HSLF’s 2023 Virginia Humane Scorecard which grades legislators on how they voted on pro-animal legislative initiatives.
Election day is Tuesday, November 7th, 2023, and early in-person voting is underway in Virginia. A list of polling locations can be found on the Virginia Department of Elections website.
Media Contact: press@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 hslf.org/blog, 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.
