To improve the future for animals, we often need to work on the past.
The federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act was first enacted in 1958, and eight years later, Congress passed the Animal Welfare Act. State animal fighting laws date even further back; some of them were enacted in the 19th century. For years, these laws have provided solid protections to animals—at least in the strictest legal sense. But in reality, too few animals have reaped any benefit from them because state and federal governments have provided only minimal funding for enforcement and implementation.
Like all laws, those dealing with animal protection are only as good as their enforcement, and good enforcement only goes as far as its budget allows. The Humane Methods of Slaughter Act is supposed to prevent the worse cruelties in slaughterhouses—animals skinned, dismembered and scalded while still alive and conscious—but U.S. Department of Agriculture enforcement has historically been lax. Likewise, for years, the USDA's job to enforce the basic care provisions of the AWA had been hampered by a monumental imbalance of resources: The agency had only about 60 inspectors to oversee about 10,000 laboratories, puppy mills, zoos, circuses, airlines, and other facilities. State and federal animal fighting laws have been treated even worse over the decades; law enforcement agencies have often let them slide with a wink and a nod.
Congress, non-governmental organizations like The HSUS and others have not let these problems just slide by. We've been researching conditions at a wide variety of facilities where animals are kept and used, and have been pressing for better enforcement of the minimal protections afforded to animals in all these settings. The USDA has occasionally responded favorably to these calls; in fact, the agency has recently stepped up its oversight of puppy mills that have been evading the law, bringing hundreds of facilities under the inspection program for the first time. Even more of these mass breeding facilities could be subject to USDA oversight if Congress enacts the Pet Animal Welfare Statute (PAWS), which would require puppy mills that sell animals directly to the public via the Internet and newspaper ads to comply with AWA standards.
Of course, if the USDA's budget doesn't provide for new inspectors to handle the additional workload, new laws and cries for tougher enforcement won't mean a thing. Animals simply won't see any improvements in their care and handling.
Show Me the Money
The dogged pursuit of more money isn't glamorous and captures few headlines, but some of our biggest achievements in recent years have come during the annual appropriations process when Congress takes up the spending bills that fund government operations.
Since 2000, Congress has responded to calls for more animal welfare enforcement dollars with substantial funding increases. As each year's funding increases build on those of previous years, old laws such as the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act and the AWA are showing some fighting spirit again. For example, since 2000, Congress has directed the USDA to spend $14 million specifically to ensure better compliance with the humane slaughter law. Before then, there had never been funds earmarked for this purpose, and the agency had not taken seriously its enforcement responsibilities under this law, which literally affects billions of animals.
What's more, over the past six years, Congress has boosted funding for enforcement of the AWA by 81% (a cumulative increase of $32 million), which has enabled the agency to hire dozens more inspectors to look out for the welfare of animals at labs, breeding mills, zoos, and the like.
And Congress has targeted $800,000 in each of the past few years for USDA to focus on animal fighting cases; increasing the funding in this area will become even more important if Congress passes legislation soon to make it a felony to transport fighting animals across state lines or overseas. With tougher laws and better funding for investigating and enforcing them, legislators, prosecutors, judges, and law enforcement agencies can continue to crack down on organized animal fighting rings; in recent months, they have put people in jail for dogfighting, cockfighting, and hog-dog fights—even in rural areas where the laws were historically ignored.
Maintaining the Momentum
Congress is moving forward on this year's annual appropriations bills, including the Agriculture Appropriations bill, which will set funding levels for the USDA to enforce the AWA and the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. "As the number of animals slaughtered for food increases and as cruelties continue for animals used for fighting, breeding, entertainment and other purposes, it's crucial that we keep pressing for increased funding to improve enforcement of key animal welfare laws," says Mimi Brody, The HSUS's director of federal affairs.
A bipartisan group of 41 senators and 141 representatives co-signed the letter seeking needed funds for animal welfare enforcement, giving these requests a leg up in the competitive budget process.
"While the final results aren't yet settled, we're well on our way to another positive year for animal welfare funding," Brody adds. The House has approved a $1.4 million increase for AWA enforcement—enough to hire another eight inspectors and three investigators—and an additional $5 million for humane slaughter enforcement and $800,000 for animal fighting. The Senate committee bill contains these funds, plus another $5 million to implement a new system for tracking violations of the humane slaughter law.
Updated Nov. 3, 2006
