Animal Law Coalition

The U.S. House Agriculture Committee approved an amendment to the House Farm Bill[, H.R. 6083, also known as the Federal Agricultural Reform and Risk Management Act (FARRM)], to strengthen laws against animal fighting. The amendment, introduced by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), makes attending an animal fight a federal offense and imposes additional penalties for bringing a child to a dog or cockfight. [Read more...]

An amendment by U.S. Rep. Steve King (R-IA) to the House Agriculture Committee version of the FARRM bill would threaten the ability of state and local governments to regulate animal welfare within their borders. Congressman King’s amendment provides “one state cannot deny the trade of an agricultural product from another state based on that product’s… [Read more...]

While a bill to ban horse slaughter for human consumption is pending in Congress, the Obama administration has agreed to support defunding of ante-mortem inspections required for equines slaughtered for human food. This means no funds could be used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to pay for inspectors to conduct these inspections. Under the… [Read more...]

U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) has introduced once again his resolution opposing the use of gas chambers to kill shelter animals, H. Res. 208. The resolution calls for states to alternatively use established injectable euthanasia drugs and ensure that appropriate training and certification in these methods is widely available. “Using gas chambers to kill shelter… [Read more...]