Year End Spending Bill Includes Animal Wellness Victories

The Congress is poised to pass a massive Fiscal Year 2020 spending package with a series of pro-animal provisions, many pushed by Animal Wellness Action, the Animal Wellness Foundation, and other animal welfare organizations. The House should vote on the $1.4 trillion measure today, and the Senate is expected to follow suit and send the bill to the President by the end of the week. The bill includes the Rescuing Animals with Rewards (RAWR) Act, authorizing a rewards program through the State Department to crack down on wildlife trafficking. That measure passed both chambers previously, so the inclusion of the measure is no surprise. It is the second free-standing animal protection bill that will become law in the 116th Congress, following the enactment of the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, which the President signed earlier this month. The spending bill directs USDA to restore animal welfare inspection reports and Horse Protection violations on its website – a reversal of an adverse USDA action that the agency took at the beginning of the tenure of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. In February 2017, the agency all but eliminated the public’s ability to view inspection reports related to the Animal Welfare Act and Horse Protection Act, including the treatment of animals in commercial dog breeding operations (“puppy mills”), research laboratories, zoos, and Walking horse shows. The bill also urges the pertinent agencies to more aggressively enforce animal welfare laws. There is strong language directing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to “make it a priority to investigate and prosecute violations of animal welfare laws,” and requires the Agency to provide a report within 120 days regarding the specific steps the DOJ is taking to enforce such laws. The Animal Wellness Foundation and Animal Wellness Action have made enforcement of our animal fighting, horse protection, and other anti-cruelty laws a top priority and have launched a nationwide campaign to enforce the laws related to cockfighting and dogfighting, including a $2,500 reward program for tips leading to a conviction. The Parity in Animal Cruelty Enforcement (PACE) Act, which extends the federal animal fighting laws to the U.S. Territories, takes effect this Friday, December 20th. Here is a summary of other key provisions:
-$2 million for a grant program to help domestic violence shelters accommodate pets. The program was authorized in the Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act, which AWA and AWF worked to get signed into law last year.
-Defunding of horse slaughter inspections, effectively ensuring that slaughter plants won’t start operations in the U.S. The permanent solution, however, is the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act, which would ban horse slaughter in the U.S. and stop the export of horses for slaughter for human consumption. Passage of this bill is an AWA and AWF priority.
-Language on trophy hunting, directing the Fish and Wildlife Service to re-examine its policy regarding the importation of sport-hunted trophies from elephants and lions.
-Funding for enforcement of the Horse Protection Act at $1,000,000 – a twenty percent plus increase. This funding enables USDA to enforce federal laws against “horse soring” – a cruel practice where Tennessee Walking, Racking, and Spotted Saddle horses are painfully tortured to achieve a high-stepping gait in horse shows.
-A long-standing restriction on issuing permits to Class B dealers who sell dogs and cats for use in research, protecting our dogs and cats from these predators...MORE