WASHINGTON, May 17, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- The ASPCA® (The American
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today
denounced the animal-related provisions in the $1.5 trillion Farm Bill unveiled by the U.S.
House Agriculture Committee, which would directly impact billions
of farm animals, dogs, cats, and horses.
The draft bill includes dangerous provisions that would overturn
existing state and local animal welfare laws, with disastrous
consequences for farm animals and higher-welfare farmers.
Additionally, the bill not only fails to provide critically needed
enforcement advancements to protect dogs in puppy mills, it
actually makes it harder to help dogs who are suffering. The bill
also fails protect the tens of thousands of American horses who are
exported for slaughter each year.
"We are incredibly disappointed to see that the House
Agriculture Committee has squandered this critical opportunity to
provide meaningful reforms to systems that have long perpetuated
cruelty to dogs in puppy mills and billions of animals raised for
food on factory farms," said Nancy
Perry, senior vice president of Government Relations for the
ASPCA. "The draft Farm Bill attacks state protections for
farm animals, puts dogs in puppy mills at even greater risk, and
fails to address the horse slaughter crisis. It is far too harmful
to support, and we urge Congress to ensure that the final Farm Bill
upholds state farm animal protection laws, institutes much-needed
funding and transparency measures to support a more humane food
system, and includes both Goldie's Act and the SAFE Act, bipartisan
bills that are critical to ensuring the welfare of dogs, horses,
and other animals."
The House Farm Bill includes the following animal-related
provisions:
- Puppy Mills: Instead of advancing protections for dogs
in puppy mills, the language included in the Farm Bill allows the
USDA to continue lax enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act. These
provisions codify some of the USDA's worst practices, all of which
lead to animal suffering being ignored. The ASPCA is urging
Congress to include the full text of Goldie's Act in the final Farm
Bill to require the USDA to conduct frequent and meaningful
inspections, provide lifesaving intervention for suffering animals,
issue penalties for violations, and communicate with local law
enforcement to address cruelty and neglect.
- Farm Animals: The House bill includes so-called
"compromise" language based on the Ending Agricultural Trade
Suppression (EATS) Act, a dangerous overreach of federal power that
would eliminate existing state and local animal welfare laws,
including bans on cruel farming practices. This language is a
transparent attempt to acquiesce to the demands of industrial
agriculture interests, steamrolling states' rights and ignoring the
will of voters along the way. If this language stays in the Farm
Bill, millions of farm animals will be forced back into cages while
thousands of independent, higher-welfare farmers will be further
disadvantaged in an already incredibly consolidated marketplace
unfairly dominated by factory farming.
The House's version of the Farm Bill could be voted on by the
House Agriculture Committee as soon as May
23. The ASPCA encourages members of the public to contact
their U.S. representatives to urge them to pass a more humane Farm
Bill that protects animals, people, and the planet. To contact your
member of Congress, please visit www.aspca.org/FarmBill.
About the ASPCA®
Founded in 1866, the ASPCA® (The American Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) was the first
animal welfare organization to be established in North America and today serves as the nation's
leading voice for vulnerable and victimized animals. As a 501(c)(3)
not-for-profit corporation with more than two million supporters
nationwide, the ASPCA is committed to preventing cruelty to dogs,
cats, equines, and farm animals throughout the United States. The
ASPCA assists animals in need through on-the-ground disaster and
cruelty interventions, behavioral rehabilitation, animal placement,
legal and legislative advocacy, and the advancement of the
sheltering and veterinary community through research, training, and
resources. For more information, visit www.ASPCA.org, and
follow the ASPCA on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
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SOURCE ASPCA