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October 17, 2006

Animal Welfare Group Urges 1st District Voters to Choose Madrid Over Heather Wilson on November 7

WASHINGTON —  Citing her track record as a leader on animal welfare policy, Humane Society Legislative Fund announced that it has endorsed Attorney General Patricia Madrid in New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District race. 

“Attorney General Madrid has demonstrated her commitment to protecting animals time and again,” said Richard Patch, political director of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “In order to pass humane laws, we need to elect humane lawmakers. Voters in New Mexico’s 1st District who care about animal welfare should support Patricia Madrid’s election."

As attorney general, Madrid earned recognition among the New Mexico humane community for her work on a number of animal welfare issues. In 2004, Animal Protection of New Mexico, a statewide animal protection organization, honored Madrid with the “Milagro Executive Director’s Award” for her active role in providing stronger legal protections for animals and her dedication of resources to ensure that funds meant as a permanent trust for chimpanzees used in federally funded animal experimentation were not mismanaged by a private foundation. She also fought for laws to make animal cruelty a felony offense in New Mexico, and has been a strong opponent of the state’s gruesome and barbaric cockfighting industry.

HSLF points out that Madrid’s humane record stands in stark contrast to that of incumbent U.S. Representative Heather Wilson. While Representative Wilson has provided important support for the Antifreeze Bittering Act, she has abandoned animal welfare advocates in many of the tough fights in Congress, including:

• Animal Fighting: She is one of a small band of lawmakers who have refused to co-sponsor legislation to strengthen penalties for illegal dogfighting and cockfighting activities. Apparently, she has sided with the cockfighters in New Mexico, one of two states where this barbaric practice remains legal.
• Horse Slaughter: She cast her vote four times in the 109th Congress alone to continue the slaughter of tens of thousands of American horses for food exports to France, Belgium, and other countries. She has put the interests of foreign gourmands above the interests of Americans who love horses.  Fortunately, the House voted overwhelmingly to ban horse slaughter, overriding Wilson’s support for killing horses for export.
• Downer Livestock: She voted to continue 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: She has refused to support active efforts to fund the enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, and federal animal fighting law.
• Yellowstone Bison: She voted to continue the killing of American bison in Yellowstone National Park.
• Dolphin Protection: She opposed legislation to protect dolphins from drowning in deadly tuna fishing nets.
• Predator Control: She cast her vote twice to support taxpayer funding for government agents to kill coyotes and other predators with cruel traps, poisons, explosives, and aerial gunning, as a subsidy for private ranchers.
• Bear Baiting: She voted to allow the unsporting and inhumane trophy hunting of bears over piles of food on our federal lands.

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.