Congressman Christopher Shays
- ️Mon Sep 11 2006
Animal Welfare
Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards
(PETS) Act * Farm
Animal Stewardship Purchasing Act *
Horse Slaughter * Downed Animal
Protection Act * Endangered
Species * Wildlife
* Captive Wildlife
* Domestic Animals
* Animal Fighting
Congressman Tom Lantos of California and I are Co-Chairs of the Congressional Friends of Animals Caucus. I am committed to animal welfare because I believe animals are vital to our livelihood, and I believe humankind has an obligation to all animals.
Some species have become our companions, some play important roles in sensitive ecosystems, and some are raised for food. It is our duty to protect and care for all of these animals.
Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act
On September 22, 2005, Congressman Tom Lantos and I introduced H.R. 3858, the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act. This common-sense bill requires state and local preparedness groups to include plans for evacuation of pet owners, pets and service animals in the event of a major disaster. This legislation passed overwhelmingly on May 22, 2006, by a vote of 349 to 29.
Hurricane Katrina left so many victims in its wake, including up to 600,000 animals that lost their lives or were left without shelter. Katrina taught us the hard lesson that, as we prepare for future emergencies, it's important we protect our pet owners in our plans, many of whom had to choose between their safety and the safety of their pets.
In order to qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding, a jurisdiction is required to submit a plan detailing their disaster preparedness plan. The PETS Act would simply require State and local emergency preparedness authorities to include how they will accommodate households with pets or service animals when presenting these plans to FEMA.
This bipartisan legislation is necessary because, when asked to choose between abandoning their pets or their own personal safety, many pet owners choose to risk their lives and remain with their pets. This is not just an animal welfare issue, this is a public safety issue.
You may also be interested to know Congressman Tom Lantos of California and I are Co-Chairs of the Congressional Friends of Animals Caucus. We will continue to work on a bipartisan basis to help protect animals at the federal level.
Farm Animal Stewardship Purchasing Act
On June 14, 2006, I introduced H.R. 5557, the Farm Animal Stewardship Purchasing Act with Congressman Peter DeFazio. This legislation would require that those supplying food to the federal government - including the military, federal prisons, school lunches, and other programs - meet a basic set of modest welfare standards for farm animals.
Billions of animals are raised for food every year in the U.S., giving our families nourishment and helping feed the world. But there is no federal law regarding the humane treatment of these animals while they're on the farm.
The humane treatment of animals speaks to our nation's core values. This legislation will not ban any current methods of production, but would instead have the federal government lead by example, creating a small, but important, marketplace for producers who raise their animals in a more humane way. Estimates indicate that the total sales affected in the U.S. would be slightly more than one percent.
Humane treatment would be defined as:
- Adequate shelter that allows animals to stand up, lie
down
and extend their limbs without touching any part of their enclosure.
- Daily access to food and water sufficient to maintain the animal's health.
- Adequate veterinary care, including prompt treatment
of
injuries or euthanasia for a sick or injured animal.
These modest standards mean that federal suppliers cannot engage in the most inhumane current industrial farming practices - intensive confinement in battery cages, gestation or veal crates, forced molting of laying hens through starvation, forced feeding for foie gras, hauling of downed animals to slaughter or leaving sick or injured animals to languish without treatment or humane euthanasia.
This bill does not mandate industry-wide compliance with these modest requirements. It would only apply to those producers who choose to do business with the federal government. This mirrors the approach that was taken when the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act was first enacted in 1958.
Just as Congress decided a half century ago that farm animals deserve a merciful death, we believe they deserve a merciful life on the farm. And just as the federal government already imposes numerous standards on contractors, including wage and labor requirements and fuel economy standards for government vehicles, we believe it's time to have basic humane standards for food purchased with tax dollars.
I share your support for the protection of horses because I oppose the cruel and senseless slaughter of American horses for human consumption in foreign markets. I am a cosponsor of H.R. 503, the American Horses Slaughter Prevention Act, which is similar to H.R. 297. H.R. 503 would prohibit any person from:
(1) slaughtering a horse for human consumption;
(2) importing to, or exporting from, the United States horseflesh or horses for human consumption; or
(3) selling, bartering, transferring, receiving, or distributing horseflesh or horses for human consumption.
The bill would impose penalties on persons who violate these provisions.
You may be interested to know, I voted for an amendment offered by Congressmen John Sweeney and John Spratt to H.R. 2744, the FY 06 Agriculture Appropriations Act that also prevents horse slaughter. This amendment prohibits the use of funds in the bill to pay salaries and expenses of personnel to inspect horses under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, which is required before the horses can be sold. I voted for this amendment on June 8, 2005, which passed by a vote of 269 to 158.
Horses are not just companions and recreational animals, they are a vital part of our nation's culture and history. I will continue to support efforts to prevent the slaughter of horses for human consumption.
I am an original cosponsor of H.R. 3931, the Downed Animal Protection Act. Animals that are so sick they cannot walk should not be made to suffer even more. By requiring such animals be "humanely euthanized," meaning the animal must be rapidly killed by mechanical, chemical or some other means, the legislation will help end the suffering of injured livestock.
I believe that unhealthy downed animals should never enter the food chain.
These animals have an increased risk of bacterial contamination and other diseases, including mad cow disease. The transportation and handling of downed animals inflict undue suffering on them.
First enacted in 1973, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is credited with preventing the immediate disappearance of more than 1,000 wildlife species, including the bald eagle, grizzly bear and Pacific salmon.
I support the preservation and protection of endangered species, and I oppose efforts to weaken ESA.
I voted against H.R. 3824, Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005, because I strongly support the preservation and protection of endangered species, and oppose any efforts to weaken the law. Regrettably, on September 29, 2005, H.R. 3824 passed the House by a vote of 229 to 193.
TESRA makes it more difficult to list species as endangered or threatened and sweeps away regulatory protections for those that are listed as such. The bill also weakens the process by which the government ensures its own actions do not jeopardize species and creates a mandatory entitlement program for private property owners, which is likely to be hugely expensive. Finally, the bill appears to give the opinions of individuals without any scientific expertise equal standing with those of scientists and repeals protections against hazardous pesticides.
You may be interested to know, on September 22, 2005, I wrote a letter along with 22 of my colleagues to former House Majority Leader Tom Delay urging him to delay consideration of H.R. 3824, allowing time to carefully read the bill and understand its ramifications. As you may know, the legislation was introduced, marked up in committee and voted on all within two weeks.
During debate, I spoke against H.R. 3824 and in support of an amendment in the nature of a substitute bill offered by Congressmen George Miller and Sherry Boehlert. Unfortunately, the amendment failed by a vote of 206 to 216. The amendment would have prevented the creation of the mandatory entitlement program for private property owners and restored the role of science in the ESA. In my comments I stated:
The Endangered Species Act is working. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 99 percent of the species ever listed under the Endangered Species Act have been prevented from going extinct, and 68 percent are stable or improving, but the recovery plans in place may need 50 years to restore these to relative abundance.
The Endangered Species Act has been a guiding force for the preservation of species in danger of extinction for over 30 years, and it is vitally important we not alter it in any way that could result in the layers of protection being compromised, to the detriment of the species it was designed to protect.
I am hopeful we will be able to significantly modify the legislation through negotiation with the Senate, which has yet to consider this issue.
Protecting our environment is one of the most important jobs I have as a congressman. I believe we have a responsibility to protect America's last herd of free-roaming buffalo. This is why I am a cosponsor of H.R. 2428, the Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act.
H.R. 2428 would prohibit state and federal government agency officials from hazing, capturing, or killing Yellowstone bison on federal lands except when a person's life is in danger or property has been damaged.
The bill states Yellowstone bison must be allowed to range freely on federal lands to the immediate north and west of the park. It also places management authority of bison within Yellowstone under the sole jurisdiction of the National Park Service.
I am an original cosponsor of H.R. 3442, the Inhumane Trapping Prevention Act, which would ban the use of steel-jawed leghold traps on animals in the United States. The traps are excessively cruel and unselective -- often capturing both wild and domestic non-target animals. Furthermore, because more humane alternatives exist, the suffering inflicted by steel jaw leghold traps is oftentimes unnecessary and avoidable.
I am a cosponsor of H.R. 1329, the Captive Primate Safety Act, which prohibits the sale of nonhuman primates - such as chimpanzees, monkeys, lemurs and others - because I share your concern about holding nonhuman primates as pets.
You may be interested to know, I was a cosponsor of H.R. 1006, the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, in the 108th Congress, which bars interstate and international trade and transport of exotic cats, specifically of lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, and cougars. It is important to note that the bill excludes licensed zoos, circuses, federally licensed breeders and other licensed places like university laboratories, veterinarians or animal shelters from these provisions. Congress passed H.R. 1006 on December 8, 2003, and the president signed the bill into law on December 19.
I believe that H.R. 1006 is a well-balanced piece of legislation that places sensible restrictions on interstate and international trade of big cats. I oppose the notion that big cats can be held as pets, and I believe that preventing individuals from purchasing exotic cats as pets will ultimately improve the conditions under which these animals live.
I am a cosponsor of H.R. 2669, the Pet Animal Welfare Statute (PAWS), which would strengthen enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) by requiring commercial breeders who annually sell more than seven litters of dogs or cats, or sell more than 26 dogs and cats directly to the public to be licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). I believe there are other ways the Animal Welfare Act can be strengthened and enforced.
I also am an original cosponsor of H.R. 5229, the Pet Safety and Protection Act, which removes the incentive to procure animals through theft or fraud by mandating that research facilities acquire dogs and cats from licensed dealers, legal owners, or publicly-owned and operated pounds or shelters. Penalties for violating these provisions would be a minimum of $1,000 for each violation.
I am a cosponsor of H.R. 817, the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act, because it increases the imprisonment penalty for animal fighting violations from one year to two years. This legislation also makes it unlawful to ship in interstate commerce a knife, gaff, or other sharp instrument used in cockfighting.