Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced its version of the Fiscal Year 2022 Agriculture Appropriations bill following the House passage of its version last week. The Senate bill and accompanying committee report contain some important highlights for animals, notably for enforcement of laws including the Animal Welfare Act, Horse Protection Act and the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Update 8/27/21: the Supreme Court issued an opinion yesterday ending the CDC order which extended the eviction moratorium in areas of substantial and high transmission of COVID-19 until October 3, 2021. The Humane Society family of organizations remains concerned about what this could mean for millions of Americans and their pets and will continue to urge elected officials to pass immediate measures to keep protections in place for these households.
Today’s approval of H.R. 4502, a package of appropriations bills funding key federal agencies, offers dramatic evidence of the success we’ve achieved through our laser-like focus on the federal budgeting process.
With unprecedented focus on the dangers that wildlife markets and wildlife trafficking pose to human health and animal welfare worldwide, the U.S. House of Representatives upped its ante yesterday by passing an appropriations package with strong language targeting the twinned threats.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Every year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture releases a report on mink fur production, and this year’s report shows a promising outlook for mink, a species that suffers immeasurably for nothing but trim on a jacket, a pom on a hat or purse or eyelash extensions.
The U.S. House of Representatives is moving forward on more of the bills funding various federal departments, and we are happy to report there are additional boosts for priority animal protection goals. Last week, the House Appropriations Committee approved bills covering the Departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Commerce, and Justice, among others.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
A bad reputation can mean the difference between life and death for animals, and nowhere is this clearer than for sharks. Sharks may be depicted as terrifying animals in films like “Jaws,” but the true tale of horror is how humans have treated shark species for centuries across the world.
For the first time in more than a decade, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has released an internal audit of its Animal Care program that licenses and inspects puppy mills that sell to pet stores and online. And the most significant finding is a disturbing one: the auditors found that the program “did not consistently address or adequately document 145 of the 322 complaints we reviewed,” indicating that almost half of the complaints about dog breeders were handled inappropriately, if at all.
One of our primary responsibilities as a leading voice for animals in the nation’s capital is to influence congressional deliberations concerning the annual budgets for federal agencies where animal welfare is in play. We’re off to an outstanding start for 2022! This week, the House Appropriations Committee approved a number of our priority requests in its Fiscal Year 2022 bills covering the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, State, Interior and other agencies.
