October 17, 2006

Animal Welfare Group Urges 6th District Voters to Reelect Gerlach for Congress 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. Representative Jim Gerlach in Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District race.

“Representative Gerlach has a strong track record of supporting animal protection issues in Congress, including his efforts to close a loophole in the Animal Welfare Act to protect puppies and consumers,” said Sara Amundson, executive director of the Humane Society Legislative Fund.  “In order to pass humane laws, we need humane lawmakers like Representative Gerlach. Voters in the 6th District who care about animal welfare should support his re-election.”

Gerlach is the sponsor the Pet Animal Welfare Statute (PAWS), H.R. 2669, to crack down on “puppy mills”—where dogs are housed in squalid, overcrowded conditions and bred relentlessly to supply the pet trade, even though there are thousands of healthy and adoptable animals at shelters and at animal rescue facilities.

His legislation would provide licensing, inspection, and oversight for commercially bred dogs and cats who are sold over the Internet or through newspaper ads—for the very first time.  Due to a loophole in the Animal Welfare Act, these large-scale breeders have been operating without any regulation or oversight, consequently slipping through the cracks and generating some of the largest cruelty cases encountered.  Pennsylvania is one of the country’s hotspots for puppy mill operations, making Representative Gerlach’s leadership especially important on this issue.

In his four years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Jim Gerlach has been a strong supporter of animal protection. He has scored a perfect 100% on the Humane Society Legislative Fund’s Humane Scorecard. Here are just of few of the other actions that Representative Gerlach has taken to help animals:

• 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 several 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 voted in support of 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.
• 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.
• Yellowstone Bison: He voted in support of legislation to stop the killing of American bison in Yellowstone National Park.

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.