On the first-ever national Humane Lobby Day, animal activists from across the country gathered in 20 state capitols and had an opportunity to discuss animal issues with their elected officials. What they all learned was that one voice truly can truly make a difference.
Some of the volunteers who showed up for the Mid-Atlantic region’s first-ever Humane Lobbying Day Feb. 13 had never talked to an elected representative before. Some of them didn’t even know their local lawmaker’s name.
They do now. In face-to-face meetings with lawmakers, grassroots activists discovered that they have more power and connections than they thought.
Poor weather in the region forced many advocates to cancel their plans to attend, but the ones who did brave the elements made quite an impression.
In New York, one of the first-time volunteer lobbyists realized that she already knew most of the Capitol’s power brokers—she has worked at the diner across the street in Albany for 14 years. Another volunteer walked into a legislator’s office and did a double take: It turned out that she and the lawmaker had gone to high school together.
Sixty volunteers had signed up, but only a few made it through the bad weather.
“We had eight great activists who braved the icy roads,” said New York State Director Patrick Kwan. “Every person who participated and contacted me afterward said: ‘When is the next lobby day? Please count me in.’”
The Albany volunteers met with top staffers from Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno’s staff and with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. They lobbied to strengthen New York’s dogfighting law, one of the least effective in the country. To prosecute spectators at a New York dogfight, law enforcement officers have to find a ticket stub on the person—even though tickets are never handed out.
The volunteers also appealed to lawmakers to end New York’s canned shoots, which allow hunters to kill fenced-in animals who can’t escape. The ban passed the Legislature but never went into effect because former New York Gov. George Pataki vetoed it. Hopes are that new governor Elliot Spitzer will sign it into law, but that can't happen until the legislature passes it.
The bad weather “was almost a bright spot as far as the legislators were concerned,” Kwan said, “because it showed how committed these people were to make it. It was quiet on the hill, so they gave us a lot of time.”
In Pennsylvania, 30 people signed up to come to Harrisburg as volunteer lobbyists, but only nine made it through the bad weather.
They lobbied on bills that would ban the use of live animals for target practice in pigeon shoots, give consumers protection when they buy diseased puppies, and prohibit tethering of dogs between the hours of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The Pennsylvania volunteers got a dose of immediate gratification: Rep. Glen Grell agreed on the spot to support the anti-tethering bill, which he hadn’t done before.
“It was fantastic,” said Pennsylvania State Director Sarah Speed. “I really think they will be going back again.”
