U.S. animal rights legislation

U.S. Animal rights legislation U.S. legislation,  policies, government subsidies, industry lobbies, activism  & background regarding humane legislation for animals.

Background information
See also Humane Movement. For U.S. government policies, subsidies and testing programs, see also U.S. Government's War on Animals. For overview of humane issues, see also War on Animals.

Bill to restore a prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and burros, 110th Congress
110 bill H.R.249. On April 26, 2007, the House considered a bill which would reverse an amendment to a 2005 appropriations bill that allowed for the commercial sale and slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and burros. The 2005 law also provided, and this bill would prohibit, that animals over ten years old or that have been unsuccessfully offered for adoption three times must be sold with no limitations. It allowed the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to round up horses and burros for adoption when necessary. Following passage of the bill, the BLM followed the practice of rounding up more animals than it could get adopted or afford to care for and feed. As of 2007, the BLM had approximately 31,000 horses and burros in holding facilities (their care and feeding reportedly half the BLM budget). As of 2007, 50 horses had been slaughtered since the 2005 bill passed. The 2005 bill had cited overpopulation as justification for allowing the Bureau of Land Management to conduct a roundup of the horses and burros. This bill noted that there are “significantly fewer of those animals than 25 years back. In 1980 there were 62,638 and by February 2007 there were 28,500.”

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), passed 277-137. See also War on Animals, sections 3 to 3.3 on horse slaughter.

H.R. 3058: Puppy Protection Act, 107th Congress, 2001-02 (defeated)
The amendment to Animal Welfare Act known as the Puppy Protection Act, H.R. 3058; have protected animals living in laboratories as well as commercial breeding kennels and pet stores.
 * Senators Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) introduced this amendment ...which is based on S. 1478, known as the Puppy Protection Act The PPA creates a three strikes and you're out system for the worst offenders and limits the number of litters for breeding females, to give these dogs time to recover between litters, and mandates that female dogs be at least one year old before they are bred. It also requires that dogs be adequately socialized with other dogs and with people to enhance the dogs' well-being and to help prevent behavior problems in the future.  The House-passed version of the Farm bill, H.R. 2646, did not contain the puppy mill provision.  See also Puppy Mills.

Helms amendment to S. 1731 USDA Farm Bill Amendment, 107th Congress, 2001-02 (passed in May 2002)
The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) is the primary law covering laboratory animals in the U.S. However, the AWA only requires facilities to count the number of dogs, cats, primates, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, farm and other animals used. Rats, mice, birds and cold-blooded animals represent the vast majority of animals used in laboratories and are not protected under the AWA or even counted. The Senate accepted an amendment introduced by the late Jesse Helms, a republican senator from N. Carolina; to bar the U.S. Department of Agriculture from including mice, rats and birds (and cold blood animals such as reptiles) under the AWA, although these animals account for (approximately) 95% of laboratory animals. See also Animal testing, section 2.1.

S. 3880: Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, 109th Congress, 2005-06 (passed November 2006)
Critics have characterized this legislation as being designed to protect the financial interests of corporations and industry as well as chill dissent and discourage legal activism, boycotts and protests. , See also Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.

Proposition 2, California's Humane Farm Bill Act (passed in November 2008)
Prop 2 proposes to prevent farm animal cruelty, ensure health and food safety, support family farmers, protect air and water and make common sense reforms. To read text of initiative of California's Humane Farm Bill Act: Conditions on factory farms have been documented and studied for over 30 years. See also Meat & Dairy industry, section 5.

SourceWatch articles

 * Humane Movement
 * U.S. Government's War on Animals
 * War on Animals
 * Meat & Dairy industry
 * Animal testing
 * Puppy Mills
 * Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act
 * Humane Society of the United States

External articles

 * TheWeekInCongress
 * HSUS Myths About Horse Slaughter, October 2007
 * HSUS The HSUS Demands Wyeth Laboratories Take Responsibility for Premarin Horses, October 2003
 * John Holland Holland Refutes AVMA Claims Endhorseslaughtering.com, accessed December 2008
 * US Newswire Coalition: Farm Bill Amendment Weakens AWA, May 2002
 * Karl Stark Digging into the AKC: Taking cash for tainted dogs, Philidelphia Enquirer, 1995.
 * Jane Seymour That Bulldog in the Window, Friends of Animals, 2005
 * Rob Roy Smith Standing on their own four legs: the future of animal welfare litigation after Animal Legal Defense Fund, Inc. v. Glickman.,The Free Library.com, Environmental Law, December 1999
 * Will Potter What is the Green Scare? Sept 2008
 * Animalpeoplenews.org Delivers 9/11 to the Animal Welfare Act, July/August 2002
 * Animal Defense League Senate committee holds second hearing on eco-terrorism focusing on HLS NYSE Issue, October 2005
 * Animal Defense League Senate committee holds second hearing on eco-terrorism focusing on HLS NYSE Issue, October 2005