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October 11, 2006

Animal Welfare Group Urges Voters to Choose Jerry McNerney in California’s 11th Congressional District Race

WASHINGTON -- Citing him as the leading opponent of animal welfare in Congress, the Humane Society Legislative Fund today announced it is launching a campaign in California’s 11th Congressional District to help defeat U.S. Representative Richard Pombo in his re-election bid. HSLF announced that it has endorsed challenger Jerry McNerney, and that is sending thousands of direct mail pieces to animal welfare supporters in the district and is canvassing to educate voters about Pombo’s cruel and shameful record.  HSLF will also conduct a paid advertising campaign.
 
“Representative Pombo couldn’t have a more terrible record on animal protection issues,” said Sara Amundson, executive director of the Humane Society Legislative Fund.  “He’s received tens of thousands of dollars from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff for influence peddling; he receives money from almost every political action committee that fosters animal abuse; and he’s the leading opponent of animal protection in the entire Congress. Voters in the 11th District who care about animal welfare should support Jerry McNerney.”

Richard Pombo couldn’t have a more abysmal record on animal welfare policies.  During seven terms in Congress, Pombo has opposed animal welfare at nearly every turn. Here are just a few of his positions:

• Pombo protects dogfighters and cockfighters. He’s voted against funding for enforcement of laws to combat illegal dogfighting and cockfighting.  He has consistently refused to cosponsor legislation to increase penalties for illegal animal fighting, even though 324 other House members have done so (including more than 150 Republicans).
• Pombo supports the barbaric slaughter of America’s horses.  Rep. Pombo has voted five times in the 109th Congress alone to promote the slaughter of horses, even though Californians voted to outlaw horse slaughter by statewide ballot initiative in 1998 (Proposition 6).  More than 100,000 American horses are slaughtered every year, and their meat is exported to foreign gourmands in France, Belgium, and other countries.  Pombo is one of the few voices in California still advocating for the slaughter of our horses.
• Pombo consistently supports spending taxpayer dollars on animal abuse. He’s supported taxpayer subsidies for trophy hunting of African elephants and the luxury mink coat industry.
• Pombo allows unethical trophy hunters to kill wildlife on our public lands. He’s voted to support the continuation of cruel and unsporting practices such as bear baiting on federal lands, even though bear hunters in California are prohibited from using bait, and the use of steel-jawed leghold traps on National Wildlife Refuges, even though California voters outlawed the use of these traps by passing Proposition 4 in 1998.  He has even voted to allow proposed national parks to be opened to hunting and trapping.
• Pombo supports dragging sick and injured livestock to slaughterhouses. He’s voted to allow farm animals to be dragged with chains and pushed into slaughterhouses with bulldozers for human consumption.  Processing these “downer” livestock is also a tremendous threat to public health, since these animals are far more likely to carry Mad Cow Disease and other risks to our food supply. California banned the processing of downers in 1995.
• Pombo supports killing whales, dolphins, seals, and polar bears. He’s the only member of Congress who has advocated for the resumption of commercial whaling by Japan and Norway.

“If he were one lonely extremist, he would not be much a threat to animals,” added Amundson.  “But he is chairman of the House Resources Committee, which oversees all legislation related to wildlife and public lands in the country.  And he is next in line to become chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, which has control over almost all animal welfare laws in the country, including the Animal Welfare Act and the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.  In these positions, he has done terrible damage to animals, and he is positioned to do more if he is re-elected.”

HSLF supports Jerry McNerney for Congress and believes he is the clear choice for voters who care about the humane treatment of animals. 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.com.

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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.