Humane Society Endorses Obama-Biden
Came across this on a DC ares pet-related list I am on.
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From: On Behalf Of Michael Markarian: Animals & Politics
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 4:08 PM
Subject: Michael Markarian: Animals & Politics
Humane Society Legislative Fund Endorses Obama-Biden
Posted: 22 Sep 2008 12:54 PM CDT
I'm proud to announce today that the Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF) board of directors-which is comprised of both Democrats and Republicans-has voted unanimously to endorse Barack Obama for President. The Obama-Biden ticket is the better choice on animal protection, and we urge all voters who care about the humane treatment of animals, no matter what their party affiliation, to vote for them.
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has been a solid supporter of animal
protection at both the state and federal levels. As an Illinois state
senator, he backed at least a dozen animal protection laws, including
those to strengthen the penalties for animal cruelty, to help animal
shelters, to promote spaying and neutering, and to ban the slaughter
of horses for human consumption. In the U.S. Senate, he has
consistently co-sponsored multiple bills to combat animal fighting and
horse slaughter, and has supported efforts to increase funding for
adequate enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, Humane Methods of
Slaughter Act, and federal laws to combat animal fighting and puppy
mills.
In his response to the HSLF questionnaire, he pledged support for
nearly every animal protection bill currently pending in Congress, and
said he will work with executive agencies such as the U.S. Department
of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior to make their
policies more humane. He wrote of the important role animals play in
our lives, as companions in our homes, as wildlife in their own
environments, and as service animals working with law enforcement and
assisting persons with disabilities. He also commented on the broader
links between animal cruelty and violence in society.
Importantly, Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) has been a
stalwart friend of animal welfare advocates in the Senate, and has
received high marks year after year on the Humane Scorecard. Biden has
not only supported animal protection legislation during his career,
but has also led the fight on important issues. He was the co-author
with Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) in the 108th Congress on
legislation to ban the netting of dolphins by commercial tuna
fishermen. He was the lead author of a bill in the 107th Congress to
prohibit trophy hunting of captive exotic mammals in fenced
enclosures, and he successfully passed the bill through the Senate
Judiciary Committee.
On the Republican ticket, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has also
supported some animal protection bills in Congress, but has been
inattentive or opposed to others. He has voted for and co-sponsored
legislation to stop horse slaughter, and voted to eliminate a $2
million subsidy for the luxury fur coat industry. But he has largely
been absent on other issues, and has failed to co-sponsor a large
number of priority bills or sign onto animal protection letters that
have had broad support in the Senate.
The McCain campaign did not fill out the HSLF presidential
questionnaire, and has also not issued any public statements on animal
welfare issues. He was silent during the downed animal scandal and
beef recall, which play ed out during a high-point in the primary
fight. Yet he did speak at the NRA convention earlier this year, and
is the keynote speaker this weekend in Columbus, Ohio, at the U.S.
Sportsmen's Alliance rally-an extremist organization that defends the
trophy hunting of threatened polar bears and captive shooting of tame
animals inside fenced pens.
Gov. Sarah Palin's (R-Alaska) retrograde policies on animal welfare
and conservation have led to an all-out war on Alaska's wolves and
other creatures. Her record is so extreme that she has perhaps done
more harm to animals than any other current governor in the United
States.
Palin engineered a campaign of shooting predators from airplanes and
helicopters, in order to artificially boost the populations of moose
and caribou for trophy hunters. She offered a $150 bounty for the left
foreleg of each dead wolf as an economic incentive for pilots and
aerial gunners to kill more of the animals, even though Alaska voters
had twice approved a ban on the practice. This year, the issue was up
again for a vote of the people, and Palin led the fight against it- in
fact, she helped to spend $400,000 of public funds to defeat the
initiative.
If Palin is put in a position to succeed McCain, it could mean
rolling back decades of progress on animal issues.
Complete statement at:
http://hslf.typepad.com/political_animal/2008/09/humane-society.html
------------ --------- --------- ------
From: On Behalf Of Michael Markarian: Animals & Politics
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 4:08 PM
Subject: Michael Markarian: Animals & Politics
Humane Society Legislative Fund Endorses Obama-Biden
Posted: 22 Sep 2008 12:54 PM CDT
I'm proud to announce today that the Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF) board of directors-which is comprised of both Democrats and Republicans-has voted unanimously to endorse Barack Obama for President. The Obama-Biden ticket is the better choice on animal protection, and we urge all voters who care about the humane treatment of animals, no matter what their party affiliation, to vote for them.
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has been a solid supporter of animal
protection at both the state and federal levels. As an Illinois state
senator, he backed at least a dozen animal protection laws, including
those to strengthen the penalties for animal cruelty, to help animal
shelters, to promote spaying and neutering, and to ban the slaughter
of horses for human consumption. In the U.S. Senate, he has
consistently co-sponsored multiple bills to combat animal fighting and
horse slaughter, and has supported efforts to increase funding for
adequate enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, Humane Methods of
Slaughter Act, and federal laws to combat animal fighting and puppy
mills.
In his response to the HSLF questionnaire, he pledged support for
nearly every animal protection bill currently pending in Congress, and
said he will work with executive agencies such as the U.S. Department
of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior to make their
policies more humane. He wrote of the important role animals play in
our lives, as companions in our homes, as wildlife in their own
environments, and as service animals working with law enforcement and
assisting persons with disabilities. He also commented on the broader
links between animal cruelty and violence in society.
Importantly, Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) has been a
stalwart friend of animal welfare advocates in the Senate, and has
received high marks year after year on the Humane Scorecard. Biden has
not only supported animal protection legislation during his career,
but has also led the fight on important issues. He was the co-author
with Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) in the 108th Congress on
legislation to ban the netting of dolphins by commercial tuna
fishermen. He was the lead author of a bill in the 107th Congress to
prohibit trophy hunting of captive exotic mammals in fenced
enclosures, and he successfully passed the bill through the Senate
Judiciary Committee.
On the Republican ticket, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has also
supported some animal protection bills in Congress, but has been
inattentive or opposed to others. He has voted for and co-sponsored
legislation to stop horse slaughter, and voted to eliminate a $2
million subsidy for the luxury fur coat industry. But he has largely
been absent on other issues, and has failed to co-sponsor a large
number of priority bills or sign onto animal protection letters that
have had broad support in the Senate.
The McCain campaign did not fill out the HSLF presidential
questionnaire, and has also not issued any public statements on animal
welfare issues. He was silent during the downed animal scandal and
beef recall, which play ed out during a high-point in the primary
fight. Yet he did speak at the NRA convention earlier this year, and
is the keynote speaker this weekend in Columbus, Ohio, at the U.S.
Sportsmen's Alliance rally-an extremist organization that defends the
trophy hunting of threatened polar bears and captive shooting of tame
animals inside fenced pens.
Gov. Sarah Palin's (R-Alaska) retrograde policies on animal welfare
and conservation have led to an all-out war on Alaska's wolves and
other creatures. Her record is so extreme that she has perhaps done
more harm to animals than any other current governor in the United
States.
Palin engineered a campaign of shooting predators from airplanes and
helicopters, in order to artificially boost the populations of moose
and caribou for trophy hunters. She offered a $150 bounty for the left
foreleg of each dead wolf as an economic incentive for pilots and
aerial gunners to kill more of the animals, even though Alaska voters
had twice approved a ban on the practice. This year, the issue was up
again for a vote of the people, and Palin led the fight against it- in
fact, she helped to spend $400,000 of public funds to defeat the
initiative.
If Palin is put in a position to succeed McCain, it could mean
rolling back decades of progress on animal issues.
Complete statement at:
http://hslf.typepad.com/political_animal/2008/09/humane-society.html