With only a few weeks to rally support in time for the Appropriations Committee deadlines, we persuaded a strong bipartisan group of 41 Senators and 135 Representatives to request funds needed to improve enforcement of key animal welfare laws. Click here to see if your federal legislators were among those who lent support to this effort. If they were, please take a moment to call and express thanks for their help on this year's animal welfare enforcement funding requests. It's important to give positive feedback to those who take action on behalf of animals. You can reach your federal legislators through the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121, or click here to find their names and office phone numbers.
Led by Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and David Vitter (R-LA) and Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Christopher Smith (R-NJ), the joint requests called for funds to implement and enforce the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, the Animal Welfare Act, the federal animal fighting law, and programs to help prepare for the needs of animals in disasters and to address the shortage of veterinarians in rural and inner-city areas and public health practice. Click here to see the Senate group letter. Click here to see the House group letter.
This is just the latest installment in a multiyear effort. We've been steadily building the enforcement budgets for these laws, recognizing that laws on the books won't do animals much good if they're not enforced. For example, over the past ten years, we've succeeded in boosting the annual funding for enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act by 135% (a cumulative total of $71 million in new dollars to the program). Today, there are 111 USDA inspectors, compared to about 60 inspectors during the 1990s, to help ensure basic humane treatment at thousands of puppy mills, research laboratories, zoos, circuses, and other facilities.
