WASHINGTON - Officials at The HSUS expressed mixed reaction
following votes on two key animal protection measures in the
House of Representatives late yesterday. The House passed an
HSUS-backed amendment to provide for $800,000 in new funds for
enforcement of the federal law against dogfighting and
cockfighting, but it barely rejected a measure that would have
halted the abuse of downed livestock at slaughterhouses. The
votes came during debate of the Fiscal Year 2004 Agriculture
Appropriations Act, which funds the Department of Agriculture.
The House approved the Blumenauer-Tancredo amendment on
animal fighting by a vote of 222-179. By a narrow margin of
199-202, the House defeated an amendment, by Representatives
Gary Ackerman (D-NY) and Steve LaTourette (R-OH), that would
have barred the processing of downed animals for human
consumption. Too sick or injured to walk, “downed animals” are
dragged, electrically shocked, beaten, and even bulldozed to
move them to slaughter.
“The House of Representatives took an important step in the
effort to combat illegal animal fighting, but the decision to
reject the amendment to halt the abuse of injured livestock is
callous and reckless,” said Wayne Pacelle, HSUS senior vice
president for government affairs and communications. “Injured
and diseased animals should not find their way into the food
supply.” In 2002, the House and Senate both voted to include a
prohibition against sending downed farm animals to slaughter in
the Farm Bill, but the conference committee stripped that
provision from the final version of the bill; many of those
same legislators worked to defeat the amendment yesterday.
The animal fighting amendment provides $800,000 for USDA’s
Office of Inspector General to focus on animal fighting cases,
working closely with state and local law enforcement personnel
to complement their efforts. The HSUS strongly urged House
members to approve the funding amendment, authored by
Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Tom Tancredo (R-CO).
Dog fighting is illegal in all 50 states and cockfighting is
illegal in 48 states. Federal law prohibits shipping roosters
and dogs across state lines for fighting purposes and bans
exports of animals bred for fighting. Many states have recently
strengthened laws against animal fighting to give law
enforcement officers the tools to crack down on animal
fighting. Last month, governors in Florida and Oregon signed
bills strengthening those states’ animal fighting provisions.
“Since the animal fighting industry involves transporting
animals over state lines to participate in fights, a combined
federal-state approach is essential to cracking down on animal
fighting,” said Pacelle. “We’re grateful to the House of
Representatives for recognizing this urgent need and we urge
the U.S. Senate to enact identical language.”
The HSUS is the nation’s largest animal protection
organization with over seven million members and constituents.
The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active
programs in companion animals and equine protection, wildlife,
animals in research and farm animals and sustainable
agriculture. For nearly 50 years, The HSUS has protected all
animals through legislation, litigation, investigation,
education, advocacy and field work. The non-profit organization
is based in Washington, DC and has 10 regional offices across
the country. For more information, visit The HSUS’ Web site –
www.hsus.org.
