WASHINGTON (October 2, 2024) – Today, the Humane Society Legislative Fund, the nation’s leading animal protection political organization, announced its endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid to become the next president of the United States. As Attorney General of California, and as U.S. Senator, Vice President Kamala Harris consistently took actions to protect animals.
“When it comes to the presidential election, animal advocates have a strong opportunity in Vice President Kamala Harris. We are optimistic about the potential of what a Harris administration could do to advance animal protection issues,” said Sara Amundson, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “Regardless of who wins this election, our team will be vigorously advocating for humane policies and holding the new administration accountable to their constituents. For example, we urge the new administration to appoint a Secretary of Agriculture who serves all Americans, not just the corporate special interest groups favored by the agency’s current leadership.”
As Attorney General, Harris defended three laws, all focused on the right of a state to legislate and issue regulations related to animal welfare and public health and safety concerns. These laws laid the groundwork for Proposition 12, the watershed farm animal confinement ballot initiative adopted by a nearly two-thirds majority of California voters in 2018. For animal advocates, Harris’ strong defense of three laws bearing on the very issues at the heart of Proposition 12 is not something to take for granted. There are 15 states with laws addressing intensive confinement of farm animals, including electoral battlegrounds Nevada, Arizona, and Michigan.
As a U.S. Senator, Harris established her credibility as an animal protection advocate. During her four years, she consistently supported pro-animal bills and earned a lifetime score of 100+ on the HSLF’s Humane Scorecard. She cosponsored bills to end horse soring cruelty, ban public contact with exotic big cats, curb wildlife trafficking, crack down on doping in horse racing and strengthen federal laws against shark finning. Four of these measures, the Big Cat Public Safety Act, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act, and the Rescuing Animals With Rewards Act, eventually passed into law. Harris also co-led a letter to oppose the odious King Amendment in the 2018 Farm Bill, which was the precursor to the EATS Act.
It is difficult to evaluate Harris’ animal welfare record as vice president because, in the end, it is the president who sets the tone and policy agenda for the administration. Whatever Harris has done to advance certain priorities within the context of a broader agenda set by President Biden ̶ along with his cabinet of federal agency leads ̶ the vice president has not been a visible champion on our issues during the last four years.
The Biden administration has not done as much as HSLF had hoped on animal protection. However, there were some bright spots including a rule on animals and disaster preparedness, a rule that sets standards for essential outdoor access and natural movements for tens of millions of animals raised under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organics program and a rule to protect Tennessee walking horses from soring.
The most conspicuous animal protection failure of the Biden administration was its adoption of the legal position that former President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice staked out in the Supreme Court case on Proposition 12. This was a tremendous disappointment, for which HSLF holds Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack primarily responsible.
Should she be elected, the most important action HSLF wants to see from President Harris is commitment to the autonomy of states to regulate issues related to animal welfare and food safety within their own borders, as also reflected in the 10th Amendment.
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.
Media Contact:
Emily Ehrhorn | eehrhorn@hslf.org
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.
