Lawmakers Urge Stronger Animal Protections

AWI rallied members of Congress to join letters to government agencies seeking greater animal protections. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) led a letter to the US Department of Agriculture requesting an update on a rulemaking petition submitted by AWI last year to require cameras inside the metal cages that lower pigs into CO₂ gas chambers at slaughterhouses so inspectors could observe the stunning process. Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY) led a bipartisan letter to House leadership urging inclusion of a ban on horse slaughter in the pending Farm Bill.

Two new AWI-supported bills were introduced: The Cold-Blooded Animal Research and Exhibition (CARE) Act (HR 9571), led by Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), would extend Animal Welfare Act protections to animals currently excluded from the law, including fish, reptiles, amphibians, and cephalopods. The Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act (HR 9794), led by Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC), Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), and Sen. Booker, would allow farmers to use USDA conservation funds to voluntarily transition from industrial farming to more sustainable and humane production systems. 

Setting up for a strong push in the next Congress, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Reps. Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) have reintroduced the Developing Alternative Mitigation Systems (DAMS) for Beavers Act (HR 10303/S 5447), which would establish a federal pilot grant program to cover the costs of installing and maintaining nonlethal systems in urban and rural areas experiencing human-beaver conflicts.

Program Terms: Farmed Animals, Marine Wildlife, Terrestrial Wildlife

AWI Quarterly Terms: Government/Legal