This year, with only a few weeks to rally support in time for committee deadlines, we persuaded a strong bipartisan group of 46 Senators and 143 Representatives to request funds needed to improve enforcement of key animal welfare laws. See if your legislators are on the list of members who signed group letters or made their own individual requests for funds to implement and enforce the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, the Animal Welfare Act, federal animal fighting law, and programs to help prepare for the needs of animals in disasters and to address the shortage of veterinarians in rural and inner-city areas and public health practice.
If your legislators lent their support, please take just a few moments to call and thank them. It's important to give positive feedback to those who take action on behalf of animals. You can reach your members of Congress through the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121, or click here to look up your legislators' office phone numbers.
This is just the latest installment in a multiyear effort. We've been steadily building the enforcement budgets for these laws, recognizing that laws on the books won't do animals much good if they're not enforced. For example, over the past nine years, we've succeeded in boosting the annual funding for enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act by 123% (a cumulative total of $59 million in new dollars to the program). Today, there are 105 USDA inspectors, compared to about 60 inspectors during the 1990s, to help ensure basic humane treatment at thousands of zoos, circuses, puppy mills, research laboratories, and other facilities.
