Dear John,

As announced last month, the SWIMS Act is the first federal legislation the NhRP has helped develop as we begin to work with members of Congress. As part of our commitment to advocating in the halls of power for the freedom of autonomous nonhuman beings like whales, we’re honored to have been able to work with a longtime, passionate animal advocate like Representative Schiff in the lead-up to this bill’s introduction.

The bill has now been given a bill number, H.R. 8514, and assigned to two committees. We look forward to working with Representative Schiff’s office, the SWIMS Act cosponsors, and the strong coalition of endorsing organizations to ensure its passage. While we await the next steps of the legislative process, a reminder that you can help us by:

1. Calling your congressional representatives to ask them to cosponsor the SWIMS Act. Learn more about how to do that on our blog here.
2. Sharing the news of the SWIMS Act widely through your network. You can forward this email or click on the Facebook and Twitter icons at the top of this blog post to share on those social media platforms.

One further way you can help us is by making a donation today so that we can allocate much-needed resources to our legislative efforts.

First and foremost, this bill is important because it is a vital step forward in ensuring a future where whales are no longer deprived of their freedom in tanks and forced to live their lives on display. In addition, it’s important to the NhRP as it marks a starting point for our work on future federal animal rights legislation. With more funding and resources to put towards our legislative efforts, we know this will be the first of many bills we’ll help develop that will prevent people and institutions from harming nonhuman animals to serve human interests. If, like us, you believe in a more just world for all beings, please donate today.

Thank you,
Mickey Suzuki
Development Director, the NhRP