On June 9, 2011, Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) reintroduced S. 1176, the "American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011" that will end the slaughter of American horses here and, most urgently, will stop these horses from being exported abroad for slaughter. Representative Dan Burton (R-IN) and Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) reintroduced a House version of the bill, H.R. 2966, on September 19, 2011. The sponsors, who have long championed the cause, have the bipartisan support of colleagues who are co-sponsoring the bill.
Animal fighting - whether it involves dogs or birds - is a violent crime that causes immense suffering to countless numbers of innocent animals. It is also associated with gang activity, drugs, gambling, money laundering, illegal guns, and other offenses. Animal fighting operations endanger the whole community.
Earlier this year, Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced The Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2011, to prohibit the transportation of horses in interstate commerce in a motor vehicle containing two or more levels stacked on top of one another. An identical version of this bill passed the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on July 29, 2010 by unanimous consent, but no further action was taken during the 111th Congress.
Representatives Mike Doyle (D-PA) and Chris Smith (R-NJ) have reintroduced the Pet Safety and Protection Act, H.R. 2256, to establish integrity in the provision of dogs and cats for research purposes.
To protect animal and human health by combatting the excessive use of antibiotics in agriculture, the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA) was introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and in the Senate by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).
On July 26, 2011, Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) introduced legislation to end the use of brutal traps on furbearing animals within federal wildlife refuges. The Refuge from Cruel Trapping Act, H.R. 2657, is intended to help to restore the original intent of the National Wildlife Refuge System by placing a ban on the use of cruel body-gripping traps on these public lands.
Lions and tigers and bears...do not belong on the road! It is impossible for circuses and other traveling exhibitors to meet the very complex needs of wild and exotic animals. Recognizing the many problems these operations present, Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) has introduced H.R. 3359, the Traveling Exotic Animal Protection Act, to put an end to this misery.
The Animal Welfare Institute opposes the use of legislation to exempt entire species or regional populations defined by political borders from the provisions of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
