November 2, 2006

Animal Welfare Group Urges 12th District Voters to Re-Elect Lantos for Congress on November 7

WASHINGTON —  Citing him as a leader on animal welfare policy in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Humane Society Legislative Fund announced that it has endorsed U.S. Representative Tom Lantos in California’s 12th Congressional District race.
 
“In order to pass humane laws, we need humane lawmakers like Representative Tom Lantos,” said Sara Amundson, executive director of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “Voters in the 12th District who care about animal welfare should support his re-election.”

During his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, Tom Lantos has been one of the most dedicated leaders of animal protection, serving as co-chair of the Congressional Friends of Animals Caucus with Representative Chris Shays of Connecticut.

Last year, Representative Lantos responded when thousands of pets were abandoned during Hurricane Katrina. He introduced the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act, H.R. 3858, which he shepherded through to passage. The bill requires state and local agencies to include pets in their disaster plans.

Representative Lantos has consistently earned a 100% the Humane Society Legislative Fund’s Humane Scorecard. Some of the animal welfare issues supported by Lantos include:

• Animal Fighting: He supported the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act, to strengthen the penalties for illegal dogfighting and cockfighting and making it a felony to transport animals across state lines for these gruesome and barbaric fights.
• Horse Slaughter: He voted to end the slaughter of tens of thousands of thoroughbreds, family ponies, and other horses for food exports to France, Belgium, and other countries. He also co-sponsored the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.
• Downer Livestock: He supported the Downed Animal Protection Act to stop the sale of sick and injured animals who are often dragged to slaughter with ropes, chains, bulldozers, or forklifts. These “downer” animals pose a greater risk of “mad cow disease” and other threats to our food supply.
• Enforcement of Animal Welfare Laws: He has consistently supported efforts to increase funding to improve enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, and federal animal fighting law.
• Bear Baiting: He voted to stop the cruel and dangerous practice of shooting bears over piles of grease and jelly doughnuts on federal lands, a practice that is prohibited during California’s bear hunting season.
• Antifreeze Safety: He supported the Antifreeze Bittering Act to include a bittering agent in sweet-tasting antifreeze and engine coolant, which would prevent thousands of animals and children from being poisoned. 
• Big Cats: He supported legislation that ended the interstate commerce in lions, tigers, and other big cats for the pet trade.
• Yellowstone Bison: He voted to stop the killing of American bison in Yellowstone National Park.
• Pet Animal Welfare Statute: He supported the Pet Animal Welfare Statute (PAWS) to crack down on abusive “puppy mills” that treat dogs like commodities on a production machine.
• Canned Hunts: He supported the Sportsmanship in Hunting Act to prohibit interstate and foreign commerce of captive exotic animals to be shot at “canned hunt” operations for entertainment or trophies.

HSLF is a nonpartisan organization that evaluates candidates based only on a single criterion: where they stand on animal welfare. HSLF does not judge candidates based on party affiliation or any other issue. A complete list of HSLF’s endorsements is available online at www.humanevoting.org. 

Media Contact: Julia Janak, jjanak@hslf.org, (425) 208-1684.

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Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF) is a social welfare organization incorporated under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code. 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. Contributions or gifts to HSLF are not tax deductible. Your donation may be used for lobbying to pass laws to protect animals, as well as for political purposes, such as supporting or opposing candidates. HSLF does not accept contributions from business corporations or labor organizations. On the web at www.hslf.org.