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​# [#]Our Monthly Accomplishments and Update
October-November 2023

Summary

*
The
U.S.
Department
of
Agriculture
made
final
new
rules
for
farm
animals
raised
under
the
“organic
seal”—a
legally
binding
designation
putting
first-ever
farm
animal
welfare
rules
in
federal
law.
*
In
the
wake
of
the
passage
of
our
landmark
FDA
Modernization
2.0
(December
2022),
animal
use
in
labs
is
dropping.
Charles
River
Laboratories,
a
supplier
of
animals
to
labs,
reported
that
its
use
of
non-human
primates
has
dropped
25%
in
2023.
The
FDA,
though,
is
delaying
a
revamp
of
regulations
governing
drug
screening
in
wake
of
passage
of
the
FDA
Modernization
Act.
We
are
working
with
lawmakers
to
push
the
FDA
to
speed
up
the
transition
away
from
animal
testing.
*
In
issuing
a
final
rulemaking
action,
the
Department
of
the
Interior
asserted
that
the
use
of
lead
ammunition
in
sport
hunting
is
a
serious
threat
to
wildlife.
But
its
action
plan
phases
out
lead
ammunition
on
just
eight
national
wildlife
refuges—an
action
step
incongruent
with
its
declaration
that
spent
lead
produces
mass
poisoning
of
eagles
and
more
than
130
other
species.
*
After
our
sister
organization
Animal
Wellness
Action
[[link removed]]
posted
it
on
their
channel,
YouTube
ordered
a
take-down
of
a
video
from
Oklahoma
Governor
Kevin
Stitt
lauding
a
front
group
for
cockfighters.
After
the
removal
by
the
social
media
giant
and
our
organizing
of
influential
Oklahomans
condemning
Stitt’s
statement—which
generated
worldwide
media
attention—the
governor
recanted
his
pro-cockfighting
stance.
It
was
a
signature
moment
in
our
effort
to
forge
a
national
political
consensus
on
animal
fighting.
*
The
EATS
Act
—which
would
repeal
key
farm
animal
protection
laws
such
as
Prop
12—is
in
political
jeopardy
after
we
persuaded
16
Republicans
to
add
their
voices
to
the
chorus
of
more
than
200
lawmakers
already
on
record
against
it.
The
group
of
16
said
it
is
at
odds
“with
our
foundational
Republican
principles
of
states’
rights,
national
sovereignty,
and
fair
competition.”
*
With
Prime
Minister
Justin
Trudeau
publicly
endorsing
a
ban
in
Canada
on
live
export
of
horses
for
slaughter,
we
asked
President
Biden
to
make
a
commitment
in
the
United
States,
and
were
joined
by
actress
Katherine
Heigl
and
horse-racing
industry
leaders.
If
he
does
so,
he’ll
support
Congressional
action
to
pass
the
SAFE
Act
as
an
amendment
to
the
2024
Farm
bill.

CAGE-FREE FUTURE
First-ever federal farm animal welfare standards now in place
We applauded the federal government’s release [[link removed]] of its final Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards (OLPS) rule—a regulatory regimen that for the first time in federal law establishes specific legal standards for at least 60 million animals used in production agriculture.

The farm-animal welfare standards will apply to animals raised under an “organic standards” regimen, assuring consumers that the animals raised on organic farms are not immobilized in cages or crates, subjected to routine mutilations, denied access to pasture for meaningful periods of their lives, or otherwise treated in ways inimical to their well-being. This is an eagerly awaited rule, with two decades of delays from USDA and interference from factory-farming interests. Animal Wellness Action president Wayne Pacelle identified the national significance [[link removed]] of the final action after working on the issue for a quarter century.

TAKE ACTION: Ask your representative and senators in Congress to oppose the EATS Act by clicking here. [[link removed]]

MODERNIZE TESTING
Lab animal use falls even as FDA delays Modernization Act rulemaking
The infamous laboratory animal breeder Charles River Laboratories noted in its recent shareholder call that its use of non-human primates has dropped 25% in 2023. That’s happening even though the FDA has still not revised its archaic regulations that require animal-testing.

“FDA’s regulations related to animal testing no longer fully conform to applicable law,” wrote five Republican and four Democrat Senators [[link removed]] in a letter to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf. The sluggish and even obstructionist actions by the FDA come after Congress demonstrated uncommon unanimity in passing the FDA Modernization Act almost a year ago. The new law [[link removed]] has spurred more than 330 news articles, commentaries, scientific reviews, and primary papers focusing on the innovations in science to improve drug screening with methods grounded on human-based biology.

The animal-testing mandate has been catastrophically bad in forecasting the human reaction to experimental drugs, with a documented 90-95% failure rate. The cost of repeated failures in preclinical testing delays drugs getting to market, impedes the development of preventions and cures for millions of patients, and drives up drug prices to make them unaffordable for many Americans. Animal Wellness Action and its partners wrote to the FDA Commissioner [[link removed]] in August asking him to institute a rulemaking action to address the inconsistencies between the new law and the old regulations. Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy are working on a follow-up measure to the FDA Modernization Act to accelerate the practical use of alternative methods.

READ MORE: Visit our dedicated microsite, Modernize Testing [[link removed]] , to learn more about our work to modernize the FDA.

GET THE LEAD OUT
Fish and Wildlife Service condemns lead ammo while timid on practical action
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a final rule [[link removed]] indicating that the “best available science” reveals that “lead ammunition and tackle have negative impacts on both wildlife and human health.” But the agency is phasing out lead ammunition over three years on just eight national wildlife refuges, while allowing sport hunters to leave behind tons of lead on hundreds of other refuges that will kill animals from 130+ species. The eight refuges are Blackwater, Chincoteague, Eastern Neck, Erie, Great Thicket, Patuxent Research, Rachel Carson, and Wallops Island national wildlife refuges. All refuges, except Chincoteague, will also phase out lead fishing tackle.

More than 500 peer-reviewed studies showed detrimental effects on wildlife, including a continent-wide effect on bald and golden eagles. A study, released in January 2022 in Science [[link removed]] , determined that up to 47 percent of eagles had “bone lead concentrations above thresholds for chronic poisoning” and a third of eagles had “acute [lead] poisoning.” Fragments of lead ammunition in the remains (so-called “gut piles”) of hunted animals are having population-level effects on eagles, according to our statement [[link removed]] .

TAKE ACTION: Go here [[link removed]] to ask your legislator to cosponsor the LEAD Act to stop the use of lead ammunition in wildlife refuges.

ANIMAL FIGHTING IS THE PITS
Oklahoma Governor Stitt now says he opposes cockfighting and attempts to weaken state law against staged animal fighting
No major elected official in America should endorse animal fighting, and with that principle in mind, we condemned [[link removed]] Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt for releasing a video to “cheer them [cockfighters] on from the sidelines” and to work with them to advance their legislative priorities in 2024 to decriminalize cockfighting in the Sooner State. Big names in Oklahoma politics and sport—former Republican Governor Frank Keating, Attorney General Drew Edmondson, and legendary Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer [[link removed]] —joined us in urging the governor to stop giving support to these criminals.

It was headline news in The Oklahoman [[link removed]] and the Tulsa World, but also got major billing in the New York Post [[link removed]] , The Guardian, The Daily Mail [[link removed]] , Daily Beast [[link removed]] , and The Hill [[link removed]] when YouTube removed the governor’s video [[link removed]] because it violated the company’s community standards promoting cruelty to animals. NonDoc got the governor’s team on record that he opposes cockfighting and any effort [[link removed]] to weaken the state’s voter-approved law. (We reposted the video on another site. You may watch Gov. Stitt’s controversial statement here [[link removed]] .)

Our work to pass the FIGHT Act in Congress and to work with law enforcement to interdict illicit animal fighting operations continues. The FIGHT Act has more Republican cosponsors than any other animal welfare bill [[link removed]] in Congress and creates a private right of action against animal fighters, enhances forfeiture of property for convicted animal fighters, and bans shipping roosters through the U.S. mail. More than 350 agencies and organizations endorse the legislation.

TAKE ACTION: Go here [[link removed]] to urge your legislators to cosponsor the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act!

CAGE-FREE FUTURE
EATS Act on the ropes
In yet one more showing of broad opposition to the EATS Act in Congress, 16 Republican House Members sent a letter [[link removed]] to the leaders of the House Committee on Agriculture, urging them not to include the provision in the Farm bill. Reps. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., David Valadao, R-Calif., Mike Waltz, R-Fla., and Nancy Mace, R-S.C. led the letter, which brings the total to more than 200 lawmakers who have explicitly signaled opposition to the measure.

The EATS Act was a default maneuver by the National Pork Producers Council after the trade association lost an enormously consequential challenge [[link removed]] before the U.S. Supreme Court to Prop 12 and other state anti-farm-animal-confinement laws.

We continue to make the case that Prop 12 is the right policy [[link removed]] and that the pig industry has diversified its operations over the last 20 years [[link removed]] and is amply prepared to provide more humanely raised pork to California and Massachusetts right now. We’ve also made the case that the EATS Act is an attack on American elections [[link removed]] and that it will hurt thousands of farmers who have invested in more animal-housing systems and planned on accessing the revamped markets in California and Massachusetts. China will be the biggest beneficiary if EATS were to pass [[link removed]] , given the Communist government controls more than a quarter of the U.S. pig industry. China has already built several massive high-rise factory farms in that country and may try the same here if EATS passes.

TAKE ACTION: Go here [[link removed]] to contact your U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators and urge them to oppose the EATS Act.

IN THE STABLE, NOT ON THE TABLE
Katherine Heigl, horse racing leaders join effort against horse slaughter
Actress Katherine Heigl joined us, along with several leading horse racing organizations, in sending a letter to President Joe Biden [[link removed]] urging him to fight against live exports of thousands of American horses for slaughter for human consumption. Our action was triggered by favorable action from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau [[link removed]] in calling for an end to Canada’s role in exporting draft horses to Japan for slaughter. Both North American leaders should be aligned on this issue.

Meanwhile, nearly 200 lawmakers have cosponsored federal legislation to ban horse slaughter, and we are working to include that bill as an amendment to the Farm bill that should pass Congress in 2024. The SAFE Act [[link removed]] comes just months after we partnered with Animals’ Angels on a North American investigation [[link removed]] documenting that the extraterritorial slaughter of American horses is rapidly waning but still a merciless journey for around 20,000 American horses a year. New York State is poised to join California, Illinois, New Jersey, and Texas in banning horse slaughter for human consumption [[link removed]] , underscoring that big border states want to end the live export of horses for slaughter to Canada and Mexico.

WANT TO HELP? Use this form [[link removed]] to easily tell your elected officials in Washington you want them to support the SAFE Act.For the animals,

Wayne Pacelle [[link removed]] Wayne Pacelle
President
Center for a Humane Economy
[[link removed]] DONATE NOW [[link removed]]
[[link removed]] WEBSITE [[link removed]]
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Center for a Humane Economy | PO Box 30845 | Bethesda, MD 208243
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