October 18, 2006

Animal Welfare Group Urges Arizona Voters to Re-Elect Renzi 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. Rep. Rick Renzi for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District in the November election.

“In order to pass humane laws, we need humane lawmakers like Representative Renzi,” said Richard Patch, political director of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “Voters in the 1st District who care about animal welfare should support his re-election.”

Rep. Renzi has been a strong advocate on a number of animal protection issues. He is a co-sponsor of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503), which seeks to ban the slaughter of American horses for human consumption abroad.  Each year, nearly 100,000 American horses are slaughtered at three, foreign-owned slaughterhouses for human consumption in France, Belgium, and other foreign countries. Horses are not raised for food in this country and most Americans are not aware that horse slaughter exists in the United States. H.R. 503 would shutter the three remaining horse slaughterhouses in the U.S. as well as prevent horse from being shipped to Mexico and Canada for slaughter.

Rep. Renzi is also a co-sponsor of the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act, H.R. 817, which would establish felony level jail time for violators of the federal animal fighting law covering dog fighting, cockfighting, and hog-dog fights and also bar interstate and foreign commerce of cockfighting weapons. A companion bill, S.382, passed the U.S. Senate unanimously in 2005. The need to strengthen the current federal law on animal fighting has become more urgent due to the connection between the illegal transport of cockfighting birds and the spread of the deadly bird flu. At least nine people in Asia have died from avian influenza reportedly as a result of exposure from cockfighting activities. 

Additionally, Rep. Renzi supported the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act, H.R. 3858, which requires state and local agencies to include pets in their disaster plans. The legislation, which was introduced in response to the tens of thousands of pets lost and abandoned during Hurricane Katrina, recently passed the House and Senate and was signed into law by the President.  Rep. Renzi has also advocated for better funding and enforcement of animal protection laws, including the Animal Welfare Act, the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, and the federal animal fighting law.

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.