October 4, 2006

Animal Protection Group Urges Rhode Island Voters to Reelect Chafee for Senate on November 7

WASHINGTON — Citing him as a leader on animal protection policy in the U.S. Senate, the Humane Society Legislative Fund announced that it has endorsed Rhode Island’s U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee for reelection. HSLF said that Chafee is a leader and strong supporter of numerous animal welfare issues in the Senate.

“Senator Chafee has demonstrated stalwart leadership on animal welfare legislation,” said Sara Amundson, executive director of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “In order to pass humane laws, we need humane lawmakers like Senator Chafee. Rhode Island residents who care about the humane treatment of animals should support his reelection.”

In 2005, Senator Chafee worked with Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont to introduce the Captive Primate Safety Act, S. 1509, to ban the interstate trade in chimpanzees, monkeys, and other primates for the exotic pet industry. These dangerous animals have caused at least 100 attacks on people in the last decade. Thanks to Chafee’s strong leadership, this legislation passed unanimously in the Senate in July 2006.

Primates can inflict serious injuries and spread life threatening diseases, and the average pet owner cannot properly care for them. Because of the health risks, importing primates into the United States for the pet trade has been banned by federal regulation since 1975. However, an estimated 15,000 primates are in private hands, and are readily available for purchase on the Internet and from exotic animal dealers. The legislation is now pending in the House of Representatives.

Senator Chafee, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water, has been a strong supporter of other animal protection issues. He has scored a perfect 100% on the HSLF’s Humane Scorecard. Some of the animal welfare issues supported by Senator Chafee include:

• Animal Fighting: He supported legislation to strengthen the penalties for illegal dogfighting and cockfighting, 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 American horses for food exports to France, Belgium, and other countries.
• Pets in Disasters: He supported the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act to require emergency planning for pets and service animals, keeping people and pets together during disasters.
• Downer Livestock: He cosponsored the Downed Animal Protection Act, to stop the sale of sick and injured farm animals who are dragged to slaughter with ropes, chains, bulldozers, and forklifts. These sick animals pose a greater risk of “mad cow disease” and other threats to our food supply.
• Puppy Mills: He cosponsored the Pet Animal Welfare Statute (PAWS) to provide better oversight at mass breeding “puppy mills” and to protect pets sold over the Internet.
• 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.

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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.fund.org.