͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌To prevent cruelty to animals, we promote enacting and enforcing good public policies. To enact good laws, we must elect good lawmakers, and that’s why we remind voters which candidates care about our issues and which ones don’t. If you’d like to unsubscribe, click here. [[link removed]]

​# [#]
Big Cat bill on its way to president’s desk
Animal Wellness Action led a highly strategic lobbying campaign to pass the Big Cat Public Safety Act, with the U.S. Senate taking favorable action on S. 263 [[link removed]] , sending it on to President Joe Biden to sign into law. We had reported that the U.S. House of Representatives had passed the Big Cat Public Safety Act, H.R. 263, at the end of July.

This new law will build on the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, which was passed unanimously in 2003 to ban the trade in big cats as pets. That 2003 measure, it turns out, had a drafting flaw that the Big Cat Public Safety Act remedies, while adding in the restriction on the breeding of big cats for the pet trade and for commercial cub petting operations.

The coalition favoring S. 263 included dozens of law enforcement agencies because their sworn officers are not trained to handle dangerous big cats on the loose or in private residences. The most infamous example occurred in Zanesville, Ohio, in 2011 when an emotionally disturbed exotic animal owner turned 60 large carnivores and other animals into the community. Sheriff Matt Lutz, who handled the Zanesville case, joined AWA in Washington, D.C. advocating for the bill’s passage. Sheriff Lutz’s voice, along with that of the National Sheriff’s Association, was a major factor for many lawmakers.

When big cats are confiscated or abandoned by owners who finally realize they are too much to handle, these animals become an unfunded liability for the already struggling animal welfare community. Sanctuaries, reputable zoos, and animal welfare groups step up to take in these big cats to help them, but it comes at an enormous and unanticipated expense — as much as $1 million to house, feed, and care for a single tiger over its 20-year lifespan.

National legislation on animal welfare is often about going to the source of the problem, and that’s exactly what this legislation does. And that’s exactly why Animal Wellness Action made its passage a top priority.

WATCH
Our Facebook Live with Carole Baskin [[link removed]]

READ MORE *
Our
press
release
[[link removed]]
*
No
more
'Tiger
Kings'
under
law
sent
to
Oval
Office
|
Washington
Examiner
[[link removed]]
*
Senate
passes
Big
Cat
Public
Safety
Act,
restricting
private
ownership
of
lions
and
tigers
[[link removed]]
*
Congress
Approves
'Tiger
King'
Bill
Restricting
Big
Cat
Ownership
[[link removed]]

FDA Modernization Act 2.0 poised for final action
We are tantalizingly close to passing the FDA Modernization Act — the most consequential reform related to animal testing ever to gain traction in Congress. The U.S. Senate passed the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 [[link removed]] on Sept. 29, in a deft maneuver executed by Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., and other key lawmakers [[link removed]] . The House had previously passed the FDA Modernization Act as a rider (Section 701) to a larger legislative package, H.R. 7667 [[link removed]] , the Food and Drug Amendments. Procedurally, both chambers must pass a bill with identical language, and that’s exactly what we are working to achieve before the year ends.

What started out as our effort to spare animals unnecessary torments in laboratories has won support from patient advocacy groups, biotech, pharmaceutical companies, and even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which initially was hostile to the initiative. Weida Tong, M.D., a lead researcher at the FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research and Director of its Bioinformatics and Biostatistics division, had this to say about the FDA Modernization Act:
“All these efforts [passing the FDA Modernization Act] just make sense. Conventional animal studies are expensive, time-consuming, labor-intensive, and there are also ethical concerns. Above all, these tests are not fail-safe for human safety. But with the FDA Modernization Act, the train has now left the station, and over the next few years, we will see tremendous progress.” (Source: Elsevier [[link removed]] )


And here’s what Isaac Bentwich M.D., the CEO of the biotech company Quris, had to say about why the up-front capital costs in drug development impede public health goals:
“Right now, the tools available to pharma, and the approach they use, make it exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to develop rare disease drugs. The economics of drug development tell a good part of the story. It costs $2.5 billion and 12 to 18 years, on average, to develop a new drug. In the rare disease space, where there is a smaller number of patients, those numbers are simply unsustainable.” (Source: Clinical Leader [[link removed]] )


Enactment of the FDA Modernization Act will reboot a broken drug development paradigm, and when it happens, it will deliver safer, more effective, more reliable palliatives and cures to people in need. Congress must now modernize testing and the FDA by dispatching the Depression-era rule that requires mass use of animals for testing in pre-clinical trials. You can see now your lawmakers have performed on the FDA Modernization Act by checking our Animal Wellness Action Congressional Scorecard. [[link removed]]

READ MORE *
FDA
Modernization
Act
2.0
a
Boon
for
Animal
Subjects,
Human
Patients,
and
Drug-Development
Companies
»
(animalwellnessaction.org)
[[link removed]]
*
Animal
Welfare
Groups
Praise
Patty
Murray’s
Role
in
U.S.
Senate
Passage
of
FDA
Modernization
Act
[[link removed]]
*
Needed:
An
AI
Revolution
In
The
Rare
Disease
Space
(clinicalleader.com)
[[link removed]]
*
“My
whole
career
has
been
about
finding
alternatives
to
animal
testing”
(elsevier.com)
[[link removed]]
*
It's
Time
to
Move
on
From
Nonhuman
Animal
Models
|
Psychology
Today
[[link removed]]
*
FDA
Modernization
Saves
Dogs
Like
Bernie
»
(animalwellnessaction.org)
[[link removed]]

Horse-soring legislation passes U.S. House but stalls in Senate
The U.S. House passed the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act in November for the second time since the bill’s formulation a decade ago. Unfortunately the vote fell short of the previous high-water mark of 333 to 96 [[link removed]] , passing by a vote of 304 to 111 [[link removed]] , with all Democrats favoring it but a majority of Republicans opposing it.

With powerful Senators from the South opposed, that chamber won’t take up the bill. While this opposition is deeply disappointing, the slide in support in the House may punctuate a point that Animal Wellness Action has publicly announced: the PAST Act is unlikely to be enacted in its current form. A compromise [[link removed]] , negotiated by AWA and some key Tennessee Walking horse business leaders, however, stands a chance. Our compromise legislation would secure the core reforms of the PAST Act and add others, including a ban on treacherous devices known as tail braces [[link removed]] . With Republicans taking the House, there may now be a recognition that the original PAST Act, as worthy as it is, must be modified to set us up for success in 2023.

READ MORE *
Rep.
Schrader’s
Bipartisan
Bill
to
Stop
Horse
Soring
Passes
the
House
|
Congressman
Kurt
Schrader
[[link removed]]
*
Tennessee's
walking
horses
need
laws
that
protect
them
from
soring
(tennessean.com)
[[link removed]]
*
Bill
to
End
Horse
Abuse
Falls
Short
in
House
Vote
Heading
into
Senate
|
Washington
DC,
DC
Patch
[[link removed]]

Courts again affirms national law ban on cockfighting
On Nov. 18, a U.S. District Court dismissed a legal maneuver by a former Northern Marianas Islands politician — a self-described lifelong cockfighter — to invalidate the federal ban on cockfighting in the Pacific-island territory. Two prior legal challenges initiated by cockfighters in Guam and Puerto Rico had been swatted away after the AWA-backed 2018 federal law went into effect.

While the court rulings are vitally important to our campaign to end animal fighting, we must also strengthen the law to make enforcement actions more seamless and high impact. With a bipartisan group, led by Reps. Cindy Axne [[link removed]] , D-Iowa, Don Bacon [[link removed]] , R-Neb., and Buddy Carter [[link removed]] , R-Ga., we introduced H.R. 9309, the Animal Fighting Amendments of 2022. The proposed amendments to Section 26 of the Animal Welfare Act [[link removed]] would fortify an already strong federal law by: 1) banning simulcasting and gambling on animal fights in the United States, no matter where the fights and broadcasts originate; 2) halting the shipment of mature roosters shipped through the U.S. mail; and 3) creating a citizen suit provision to allow private right of action against illegal animal fighters and ease the resource burden on federal agencies.

This bill complements our efforts to advance the Animal Cruelty Enforcement Act [[link removed]] that would create an Animal Cruelty Crimes section at the Department of Justice. Our national investigations in multiple states and territories have blown the lid on a startlingly large national network of organized criminals engaging in malicious acts of cruelty to roosters and dogs.

Animal Wellness Action (AWA) and allied groups congratulated federal prosecutors for securing federal prison time [[link removed]] for major cockfighting operators from Verbena, Alabama for their deep involvement in staged animal fighting ventures. Animal Wellness Action provided a detailed dossier on the leader of that illegal cockfighting crime ring to the federal government more than two years ago and that intelligence contributed to this very important and consequential prosecution. Brent Easterling, the most visible member of a larger family enmeshed in the business of cockfighting, was sentenced by Honorable Judge Myron H. Thompson to 24 months in federal prison. Judge Thompson also sentenced Billy Easterling to 22 months and Tyler Easterling to 20 months. Jim Easterling was sentenced to three years home confinement. Several women in the Easterling family who were knowingly involved in the enterprise were sentenced to probation.


READ MORE *
Federal
Court
Issues
Sentences
for
Alabama
Cockfighting
Kingpins
»
(animalwellnessaction.org)
[[link removed]]
*
7
Alabama
family
members
sentenced
in
one
of
US’s
largest
cockfighting
operations,
feds
say
—
al.com
[[link removed]]
*
Federal
Court
Dismisses
Challenge
to
National
Law
Against
Cockfighting
Initiated
by
Northern
Marianas
Cockfighter
»
(animalwellnessaction.org)
[[link removed]]
*
National
Legislation
Introduced
to
Allow
Citizen
Suits
to
Crack
Down
on
Staged
Animal
Fights
»
(animalwellnessaction.org)
[[link removed]]
*
Rep.
Axne
Introduces
Bipartisan
Legislation
to
Crack
Down
on
Dogfighting
and
Cockfighting
Throughout
the
U.S.
|
Representative
Cynthia
Axne
(house.gov)
[[link removed]]
*
Midlands
Voices:
Society
should
not
tolerate
staged
cruelty
of
animal
fighting
(omaha.com)
[[link removed]]
*
Guest
column:
Carter
working
to
protect
animals
-
Bryan
County
News
[[link removed]]
*
Cockfighting:
Expanded
Federal
Law
Would
Halt
USPS
Transport
of
Animals
for
Fighting
(citywatchla.com)
[[link removed]]
*
House
Lawmakers
Introduce
Bipartisan
Legislation
to
Crack
Down
on
Rampant
and
Illegal
Dogfighting
and
Cockfighting
Throughout
the
U.S.
»
(animalwellnessaction.org)
[[link removed]]

Breaking dairy-industry monopoly, combatting factory-farming of cows
Working with Switch4Good [[link removed]] , the Center for a Humane Economy worked with 31 members of Congress who wrote [[link removed]] to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and demanded that he and the USDA address the unfair and unhealthy dairy industry monopoly in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).

USDA’s mass buy-ups of cow’s milk for schools force a food staple [[link removed]] onto the breakfast and lunch trays of millions of kids who are lactose intolerant, and the Department provides no practical choices for a nutritionally equivalent plant-based milk option. Nearly 30 percent of the kids throw the milk away in the carton. That aversion is driven by the data that show that three-quarters of African Americans, Asian-Americans, and Native Americans are lactose intolerant. Reps. Troy Carter [[link removed]] , D-La., Ted Lieu, D-Calif, and Nanette Barragan, D-Calif., are leading the effort to give needy kids healthy food choices, reduce food waste and greenhouse gas emissions, and also address the inhumane treatment of cows on modern factory dairies.

Dairy cows have been re-engineered to produce milk at volumes that cause them a range of chronic health problems and dramatically shorten their lifespans. Not long ago, a normal dairy cow would produce about 3,600 pounds of milk (2,700 gallons). But by breeding them for hyper productivity, they now produce 22,500 pounds — output that taxes their systems and leads to an array of health problems. With a natural life span of 15-20 years, cows are sometimes physically spent at even three or four years of age and sent to slaughter. Like the spent females, male calves are recycled into the meat industry to make low-grade beef products. Calves are forever separated from their mothers immediately or up to 48 hours after being born.

Adult consumers now have options to cow’s milk in the marketplace. Thirty million kids in our National School Lunch Program should have options, too.

READ MORE *
Rep.
Troy
Carter
wants
to
require
dairy
alternatives
in
school
lunches
-
Louisiana
Illuminator
(lailluminator.com)
[[link removed]]
*
Congressman
Troy
Carter
Calls
for
Equity
at
the
Lunch
Counter,
Pushes
USDA
to
Provide
Soy
Milk
in
Schools
|
Representative
Troy
Carter
(house.gov)
[[link removed]]

News on the track and in the courts on horse racing
Controversy continues to swirl around horse racing, with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit striking down the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act that AWA worked to enact in 2020 [[link removed]] . The measure banned race-day doping in Thoroughbred racing and created a uniform national standard for drug testing, track safety, and enforcement under the new Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. That measure has not gone into effect, and just this week we’ve seen another rash of horse deaths in California, as CBS Sports reports [[link removed]] with 17 dead at Los Alamitos Race Course, 13 dead at Golden Gate Fields [[link removed]] , and 12 dead at Santa Anita Park [[link removed]] , marking nearly 60 horse deaths in the state in 2022. We’ll be working angles to address the court ruling.

READ MORE *
Is
There
Hope
for
the
Horseracing
Integrity
and
Safety
Act?
-
Baltimore
Post-Examiner
(baltimorepostexaminer.com)
[[link removed]]
*
Pistachio
Princess
becomes
17th
horse
to
die
at
Los
Alamitos
Race
Course
in
2022
-
CBSSports.com
[[link removed]]
*
13th
racehorse
dies
at
Golden
Gate
Fields
in
2022
(msn.com)
[[link removed]]
*
Horse
Racing
Tracks
in
Limbo
With
Court's
Rejection
of
National
Safety
Law
|
FOX
Sports
Radio
(iheart.com)
[[link removed]]

Animal Wellness Action plays major role in defeating Dr. Oz
Animal issues never played more prominently in a U.S. Senate race than the 2022 battle in Pennsylvania, where Animal Wellness Action [[link removed]] , the Senate Majority PAC [[link removed]] , and the Lincoln Project [[link removed]] spent more than $3 million on TV and digital ads to elevate the issue of animal testing.

The groups spent money to defeat Dr. Mehmet Oz because of a startling record of inhumane animal testing and a failure to provide assurances that he would support policy efforts to reduce animal testing. The Washington Examiner reported [[link removed]] that Dr. Oz’s experiment on dogs may have doomed his campaign, with Oz and his research team conducting tests [[link removed]] on more than 1,000 animals, including 330 beagles, between 1989 and 2010 at the University of Columbia. The mistreatment was severe enough to prompt the U.S. Department of Agriculture to issue a rare citation for Animal Welfare Act violations and to fine Columbia University for the abuses. Even Saturday Night Live [[link removed]] traded on the controversy.

AWA is entirely non-partisan and makes endorsements based on the candidates’ contrasting position on animal issues and their chances of success. It’s important to note that AWA also endorsed key Republican Senate candidates, including Rand Paul [[link removed]] , Mike Lee [[link removed]] , John Kennedy [[link removed]] , and Ted Budd [[link removed]] because of their active leadership on animal issues. We also endorsed key Democrats such as Sens. Tammy Duckworth [[link removed]] , Richard Blumenthal [[link removed]] , and others. In short, if we are going to pass strong laws to help animals, we must have a critical mass of political support in both parties, especially with legislative chambers almost evenly divided by party.

READ MORE *
Animal
Wellness
Action
Launches
$250,000
Ad
Campaign
to
Alert
PA
Voters
to
Sickening
Mistreatment
of
Animals
in
Dr.
Oz
Lab
»
[[link removed]]
*
Ignoring
dead
dogs
helped
doom
Dr.
Oz
|
Washington
Examiner
[[link removed]]
*
Animal
Wellness
Action
Launches
$250K
Ad
Campaign
to
Alert
PA
Voters
to
Sickening
Mistreatment
of
Animals
in
Dr.
Oz
Lab
(abc27.com)
[[link removed]]





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