Today, “Glee” actress and chimpanzee advocate Charlotte Ross joined scientific experts on Capitol Hill to participate in a congressional briefing on the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act (S. 810/H.R.1513). The legislation—introduced by Sens.
The California Legislature this week gave final approval to A.B. 376 to ban the trade in shark fins, and sent the bill to Gov. Jerry Brown. The state Senate passed the bill with a bipartisan vote of 25-9 (with 15 Democrats and 10 Republicans supporting the measure) and the Assembly had previously approved it by a vote of 65-8 (with the support of 47 Democrats and 18 Republicans).
Today the Obama Administration, admirably, issued two notices from two different federal agencies on new proposals to advance animal welfare. The first item, which you can read about on Wayne Pacelle’s blog, is a positive finding from the U.S.
Last week, a jury convicted a Florida couple for failing to protect 2-year-old Shaianna Hare, who was asphyxiated in her crib by a dangerous family pet—an 8-foot-6-inch, 13-pound albino Burmese python.
The Government Accountability Office released a new report yesterday, “Horse Welfare: Action Needed to Address Unintended Consequences from Cessation of Domestic Slaughter,” and some proponents of horse slaughter are using it as a rallying cry to re-open equine abattoirs on American soil. But the GAO report is a lot more nuanced than the horse slaughter industry suggests, and the report provides some good insights into better policy solutions for horse welfare.
There is good news and bad news from the U.S. Congress on animal protection issues that reached the House floor this week as part of the debate over agriculture spending for Fiscal Year 2012. The horses dodged a bullet, while taxpayers and wildlife took a hit.
It was a "bi-paw-tisan" event that brought "Re-pup-licans" and "Demo-cats" together last evening on Capitol Hill. Hundreds of people and dozens of dogs gathered in suspense as we handed out awards—and treats—and announced the winners of the second annual Congressional Pet Photo Contest, sponsored by HSLF and The HSUS. (Click here to see video.)
The U.S. House of Representatives begins debate tomorrow on the annual appropriations bill to fund the budget of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for Fiscal Year 2012. We expect several important issues related to animal welfare to come up, with potentially wide-ranging impacts on how taxpayer dollars are used for predator control, horse slaughter, and agriculture subsidies.
The House Appropriations Committee last evening approved its version of the agriculture spending bill for Fiscal Year 2012, and sent it to the full House of Representatives for consideration, likely in a few weeks. The committee-passed bill included funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s enforcement of important animal welfare laws, and successful provisions to bar horse slaughter and cut subsidies to massive factory farms.
Who is Capitol Hill’s most distinguished dog? The most captivating cat? How about the handsomest horse? We will soon find out, as Members of Congress and their staff over the last few weeks have been submitting photos of their beloved dogs, cats and horses for the 2011 Congressional Pet Photo Contest, co-sponsored by HSLF and The HSUS.
