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Members of Congress Are Back Home. Ask Them to Support Animal Welfare!

Dear John,

With a full agenda awaiting them in September, members of Congress will spend most of August in their home states. Each year we ask animal welfare advocates like you to engage with their elected officials more directly during this time. It will be more challenging this year amid the pandemic--given the need to avoid typical in-person town hall meetings, forums, and gatherings--but they still need to hear from you. And there are plenty of ways to reach out to your members of Congress and urge their support on important animal welfare issues.

* Send letters to the editor of your local newspaper. While they are home, your members of Congress are more likely to see such letters in print. (Your letter may also appear online.) We make it easy: Use AWI's Compassion Index ([link removed]) to find local media outlets and send your letters directly to them via our website.

* Sign up for your legislators' newsletters and follow them on social media so that you will get word when they announce virtual public events such as Tele-Town Halls, appear on radio call-in programs or online interviews that take questions from the public, or set aside time for calls to their district offices. Contact information for your legislators is available online through AWI's Compassion Index ([link removed]).

Here are four of the key animal protection issues we are highlighting this summer. Please feel free to use our materials in your letters to the editor or in talking with your members of Congress. You can also click on the links below to write to your legislators urging support of these bills.

* H.R. 2808, the Child and Animal Abuse Detection and Reporting Act ([link removed])
This legislation would make it possible to include information about animal abuse as a risk factor for child abuse in the data collected from state child protection agencies under the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. Please ask your representative ([link removed]) to cosponsor this simple yet far-reaching bill, which would yield vital information to help address both child abuse and animal cruelty.

* S. 877, the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act ([link removed])
Shark finning is the inhumane practice of cutting off a shark's fins--often while the shark is still conscious--and discarding the mutilated shark into the ocean to die painfully. The United States plays a major role in the global shark fin trade, contributing to the alarming decline of shark populations. This bill would make it illegal for any person to possess, buy, or sell any product containing shark fins. The House of Representatives passed this bill in November 2019. Please urge your senators ([link removed]) to cosponsor S.877 and help protect marine ecosystems by ending the senseless killing of endangered sharks worldwide.

* H.R. 1400, the Horse Transportation Safety Act ([link removed])
This bill would promote public safety and animal welfare by banning the use of double-deck trailers to transport horses in interstate commerce. Double-deck trailers are designed for much shorter animals and cannot safely accommodate the horses crammed inside. These top-heavy vehicles have been implicated in horrific accidents, such as when a double-deck trailer carrying 59 horses crashed, resulting in the deaths of 19 horses. The legislation recently passed ([link removed]) the House of Representatives as part of a massive infrastructure package (H.R. 2); the Senate aims to pass similar infrastructure and surface transportation legislation. Please encourage lawmakers ([link removed]) to ensure that the Horse Transportation Safety Act remains in whatever final infrastructure package Congress approves in the coming months.

* H.R. 1380/S. 2561, the Big Cat Public Safety Act([link removed])
This bill would address the captive big cat crisis in this country by prohibiting private ownership of big cats and prohibiting public contact with them, such as in private zoos that feature cub petting and photo ops. These facilities engage in rampant breeding to churn out cubs, who are discarded when they grow too big--sent off to another disreputable zoo, sold as pets, or even killed to supply an underground market for their parts. If the cats manage to escape, people can be severely injured or killed. The Big Cat Public Safety Act passed the House Natural Resources Committee last September. Please urge your senators ([link removed]) to cosponsor S. 2561.
Please share this eAlert with your family, friends, and co-workers, and encourage them to engage with their elected officials, too. Thank you for taking the time to bring your interest in protecting animals to the attention of your members of Congress.

Sincerely,

Cathy Liss
President

P.S. Follow us on Facebook ([link removed]), Twitter ([link removed]), and Instagram ([link removed]) for other important animal protection actions and news.

Photo by Surkov Dimitri

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Animal Welfare Institute
900 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20003
(202) 337-2332 | www.awionline.org ([link removed])

The Animal Welfare Institute is a not-for-profit organization, founded in 1951 and dedicated to reducing animal suffering caused by people. We seek better treatment of animals everywhere: in the laboratory, on the farm, in commerce, at home, and in the wild.

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900 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20003