WASHINGTON (Oct. 18, 2010) — The Humane Society Legislative Fund, the nation’s top political organization for animal welfare, today endorsed Governor Ted Strickland for re-election as Ohio governor, citing his central role in the landmark agreement between humane organizations and agriculture interests that provides a pathway for reform on eight major animal welfare issues as well as his support for other animal welfare issues during his terms in Congress.

The leaders of eight agricultural commodity organizations, The Humane Society of the United States, and Governor Strickland made the agreement on June 30, just hours before Ohioans for Humane Farms planned to submit more than 500,000 signatures for a ballot initiative to establish a series of farm animal reforms in Ohio.

“Governor Strickland established himself as a problem-solver in bringing political adversaries to the table and hammering out an agreement that is good for animal welfare, the agriculture industry, and the state as a whole,” said Sara Amundson, executive director of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “Ohio was rated toward the bottom of the states in terms of animal welfare, and when these reforms are adopted, it will return the state to the mainstream when it comes to the care of animals.”

The agreement calls for the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board to adopt rules to phase out of veal crates for calves and gestation crates for breeding pigs, to impose a moratorium on new battery cage facilities for egg-laying hens, to ban the transport of downer cows, and to require the humane euthanasia of sick animals on farms. It calls on Governor Strickland to adopt a rule to ban keeping dangerous wild animals as pets, and it says that all parties to the agreement will support and work for the enactment of legislation to establish felony-level penalties for cockfighting and crack down on abuses at large-scale puppy mills. H.B. 108 and S.B 95 are pending in the state legislature, and Governor Strickland has written to lawmakers in support of both of these measures.

When Strickland served in the U.S. Congress, he co-sponsored legislation to strengthen the federal penalties for dogfighting and cockfighting, to stop the slaughter of “downer” cattle who are too sick or injured to walk on their own, and to stop the slaughter of American horses for foreign consumption. He also supported adequate funding for the enforcement of animal welfare, humane slaughter, and animal fighting laws, and voted in favor of legislation to stop the killing of bison in Yellowstone National Park, to ban the interstate commerce in big cats as pets, to ban the trafficking in animal “crush” videos, and to protect dolphins from being harmed in tuna nets.

“I urge all animal advocates in Ohio to vote for Ted Strickland,” added Amundson. “He is aware of the importance of animal welfare issues in society and I know he’ll give every subject fair consideration.”

This is the first time that HSLF has endorsed a candidate for governor in Ohio. “We felt that the extraordinary effort advanced by Governor Strickland and the private parties in the animal welfare agreement warranted our involvement in this race,” added Amundson.

HSLF is a nonpartisan organization that endorses Democratic, Republican and Independent candidates. HSLF evaluates candidates based on two overarching criteria: their viability and their stands on animal protection policies. HSLF does not judge candidates on party affiliation or any other issue. For a complete list of endorsements, go to hslf.org/voter_guide.

Paid for by Humane Society Legislative Fund and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. HSLF, 519 C Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002.

Media Contact: Kristen Eastman, 301/721-6440, keastman@hslf.org

--30--

The Humane Society Legislative Fund is a social welfare organization incorporated under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code and formed in 2004 as a separate lobbying affiliate of The Humane Society of the United States. The HSLF works to pass animal protection laws at the state and federal level, to educate the public about animal protection issues, and to support humane candidates for office. On the web at www.hslf.org.