October 25, 2006

Animal Welfare Group Urges 3rd District Voters to Re-Elect English on November 7

WASHINGTON — Citing him as a leader on animal welfare policy in the U.S. House of Representatives, Humane Society Legislative Fund announced that it has endorsed U.S. Rep. Phil English for Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District in the November election.

“In order to pass humane laws, we need humane lawmakers like Representative Phil English,” said Sara Amundson, executive director of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “Voters in Pennsylvania’s 3rd District who care about animal welfare should support his re-election.”

Representative English is the lead sponsor of the Pet Safety and Protection Act, H.R. 5229, and is leading the fight to protect our pets from unscrupulous “Class B dealers” who traffic in family pets for research. Historically, Class B dealers have been known to house animals in inhumane conditions and are allowed to acquire animals from random sources, including unregulated “bunchers” who might be selling pets obtained from sources such as classified “free to a good home” ads.

Even though there are only a handful of these dealers who trade in dogs and cats, the USDA spends more than $250,000 of taxpayers’ money to regulate them. HSLF applauds Representative English for working to put a stop to this cruel and wasteful practice.

Representative English has been a strong advocate on a number of animal protection issues, consistently earning a 100% score on HSLF’s Humane Scorecard. He has supported numerous animal welfare measures, including:

• Animal Fighting: He co-sponsored the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act 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 cast his vote five times to end the slaughter of tens of thousands of American horses for food exports to France, Belgium, and other countries. And he co-sponsored the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.
• 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 co-sponsored 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 so-called “downer” livestock pose a greater risk of “mad cow disease” and other threats to our food supply.
• Puppy Mills: He co-sponsored the Pet Animal Welfare Statute (PAWS) to crack down on abusive “puppy mills” that treat the dogs like they are production machines.
• Antifreeze Poisoning:  He co-sponsored the Antifreeze Bittering Act to require the addition of a bittering agent to sweet-tasting engine coolant and antifreeze to prevent pets, wildlife, and children from being poisoned.

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.fund.org.