Animal Protection Legislation Update

View this email in a browser. [[link removed]] [[link removed]]Dear John,

While 2020 presented unforeseen challenges, the Animal Legal Defense Fund made
substantial progress for animals in legislatures across the country. Below are a
few of our biggest successes for animals this year as well as a look ahead at
some of our priority bills as we move into 2021.

OUR BIGGEST VICTORIES FOR ANIMALS


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California

* California became the first state to protect wild animals from super-toxic
rat poisons. The California Ecosystems Protection Act
[[link removed]] puts in place safeguards against ‘one-feeding-kills’ second-generation
anticoagulant rodenticides.
* Bella’s Act
[[link removed]] strengthened California’s landmark retail pet sales ban by refining existing
law to crack down on animal laundering and end all retail sales of puppies,
kittens, and rabbits.

Colorado

* Colorado is now the sixth state in the nation to ban cruel wildlife killing contests
[[link removed]] , where participants compete to kill as many animals as they can during a
specified time period. (Five months later, Washington became the seventh
state to ban these contests, another state effort we supported).
* The Egg-Laying Hen Confinement Standards
[[link removed]] bill upgraded standards for egg-laying hens in Colorado, ending the
intensive confinement of millions of birds in the state by January 1, 2023.

Kentucky

* Until this year, Kentucky was the only state with a law barring veterinarians
from reporting suspected animal abuse. SB 21
[[link removed]] ended this prohibition and empowers veterinarians to report suspected
cruelty.

Florida

* Charter Question 1, the “Right to Clean Water” initiative
[[link removed]] , in Orange County was a groundbreaking ‘rights of nature’ charter amendment
that recognizes county waterways have a right to be protected from pollution.
Endorsed by the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the initiative passed
overwhelmingly with 89% of the vote.

STATE BILLS STILL IN PROGRESS


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New Jersey

* We’re pushing hard to enact the nation’s third Courtroom Animal Advocate
Program (CAAP). A.4533/S.2868
[[link removed]] provides for an advocate in criminal cases concerning the welfare or care of
an animal, ensuring more animal victims have a voice in legal proceedings.
The bill passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee with unanimous support
and is expected to move in January.
* New Jersey may also be poised to become the next state to ban cruel gestation
crates, with legislation being revived to protect mother pigs from being
confined in spaces so small that they cannot stand up, lie down, turn around
freely, nor fully extend their limbs. Nearly identical bills passed with
overwhelming bipartisan legislative support in prior years.

Massachusetts

* H.4131
[[link removed]] would crack down on poaching and protect the state’s wild animals by
modernizing penalties for illegal hunting and enter Massachusetts in the
Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact.
* An animal possession ban bill, S.2924
[[link removed]] , would prohibit a person convicted of animal cruelty from possessing
animals for at least five years after their release from custody.

FEDERAL WORK


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A new administration means new opportunities. We’re hopeful the new
administration will be more receptive to adopting animal friendly policies, and
we’re laying the groundwork by reaching out to transition teams with our top
priorities. Our work in Congress also continues, with a special emphasis on
captive wildlife and farmed animals.

On December 3rd, the House of Representatives passed the Big Cat Public Safety Act
[[link removed]] 272 to 114, a critically important bill that will help end the rampant abuse of
tigers and other big cats across the country by prohibiting private possession
and making it illegal for exhibitors to allow direct contact with cubs, ending
dangerous interactions such as cub petting.

We continue our work to end one the cruelest methods of “depopulation” on
factory farms: ventilation shutdown, where animals are roasted alive and
suffocated to death. And we’re pushing the Farm System Reform Act
[[link removed]] , which would overhaul our country’s cruel and environmentally destructive
animal agricultural industry, in part, by placing a moratorium on the largest
factory farms.

I’m so proud of the work we accomplished over the last 12 months and what we’re
planning for 2021 to make this country safer and more humane for animals. Thank
you for your unending support — you made these successes possible.

Nothing will stop us from working toward a future where every animal is
respected and given the legal protections they deserve.

For the animals,
Kim Kelly
Director of Legislative Affairs



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