In the 11th hour before adjourning for the summer recess, the U.S. Senate passed two bills Aug. 3 that will provide greatly needed protection for pets in disasters and reduce incentives for killing exotic and big game animals for trophies.
To ensure that companion animals aren't left behind in emergencies, the Senate unanimously passed the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act. It requires state and local governments to take into account the needs of people with pets and service animals when preparing for disasters.
The devastation wrought last year by Hurricane Katrina exposed a major gap in the country's disaster planning. Many people in the Gulf Coast region were forced to choose between evacuating without their pets or risking their lives by remaining in storm-ravaged areas. Animal rescue organizations, including The HSUS, saved thousands of animals left behind, but thousands more died of starvation or disease.
The House of Representatives passed a similar bill, introduced by Reps. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., and Christopher Shays, R-Conn., in May by a vote of 349-24. The Senate bill, introduced by Sens. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., includes some additional provisions. It ensures that evacuation plans are made before disaster strikes. It also gives the Federal Emergency Management Agency the authority to help develop disaster plans for pets, and it allows federal funds for states to set up emergency shelters for people and their pets.
"We are grateful to Sen. Stevens, Sen. Lautenberg, Rep. Lantos and Rep. Shays for championing this important legislation," said Wayne Pacelle, HSUS president and CEO. "We hope it will soon be on its way to President Bush, who said during Hurricane Katrina that he would be sure to take his dog, Barney, if he was forced to evacuate."
The Senate version of the PETS Act also requires authorities to provide essential help to people and their companion animals following a major disaster, and it makes nonprofit organizations eligible for federal funds for providing such help. The House can either pass the Senate version or bring it to conference where a committee made up of members of both chambers can work to reconcile the differences.
Closing the Trophy Tax Loophole
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| A trailer of trophies as tax breaks. |
In a separate vote on the same night, the Senate agreed to close a loophole in the tax code that allows wealthy trophy hunters to deduct the cost of their expensive hunting trips. By donating mounted animals to museums—and phony museums, sometimes in hunters' own living rooms—hunters could write off airfare, guide fees, licenses, permits, skinners, trackers, shipping, taxidermy and more.
"The phoniness of this kind of donation called out for congressional action," said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. "Thanks to the Humane Society of the United States, we're taking the tax cheating out of taxidermy. I'm grateful for the group's diligent work in exposing this scam in the first place and then helping Congress shut it down."
The bill that passed, under Grassley's sponsorship, limits claims to the cost of purchasing a donated trophy on the open market. Under the bill, trophy hunters must include "comparable sales data" in tax forms claiming donations.
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| Price list for mounted animal trophies. Click to view PDF. |
The HSUS uncovered the scam in a two-year investigation that found trophy appraisers over-valuing trophies by including the cost of trips.
"There's certainly nothing charitable about shooting rare animals and calling your living room a `museum,'" said Michael Markarian, HSUS executive vice president. "We're grateful to Sen. Grassley for shooting down this safari swindle, which will save the country millions of dollars."
The Senate trophy tax provision, which mirrors a bill passed in the House of Representatives in late July, is part of the Pension Protection Act, which passed 93-5. The president is expected to sign the bill.
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| Ad for appraisers. Click to view PDF. |
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Senate passage of the two bills represents a hard-fought victory for animals and their advocates. The HSUS will continue to press Congress on several other animal protection measures in September when Congress returns from recess. Measures topping the agenda include a bill to combat illegal animal fighting, which has already passed the Senate and now has an almost unprecedented 316 co-sponsors in the House, and a bill to end horse slaughter for human consumption, which is scheduled for a vote in the House Sept. 7.
The HSUS is hopeful that legislation to require a bittering agent in antifreeze to prevent poisoning of animals and children, to stop the interstate pet trade in dangerous primates, and to shut down pay-per-view Internet hunting will see further action this year.
"We had great victories for animals just before the August recess, but we have more challenges ahead as soon as Congress returns after Labor Day," Pacelle said. "We need to keep pushing to make 2006 a banner year for animal protection legislation."
