SAOVA Friends,
The Congressional Animal Protection Caucus is a collaboration between
the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA); Animal
Welfare Institute (AWI); The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS); and the Humane Society Legislative
Fund (HSLF). Representatives Mike Fitzpatrick (R, PA) and Earl Blumenauer (D,
OR) were named as the new co-chairs for the 114th Congress. They have
previously introduced a bill to prohibit interstate commerce in primates for
the pet trade and have supported legislation to block USDA funding for horse
slaughter inspection. Other Caucus members have introduced Big Cats and Public
Safety Protection Act [HR1998] to prohibit private possession and breeding of
big cats, and the Egg Products Inspection Act [H.R. 1731] to set federal
housing standards for egg-laying hens. In the 113th Congress, members of the
Caucus hosted briefings on a diverse range of animal-related topics, including
increased protections for African lions, the use of antibiotics in industrial
agriculture operations, and preventing soring of Tennessee Walking Horses.
The caucus co-chairs have a history of supporting HSUS
initiatives. Rep. Fitzpatrick received an HSUS legislative leader award for
support and co-sponsorship of bills in the 112th Congress such as Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act
[HR835] to regulate dog breeders and American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act
[HR 2966] to prohibit the transport (including
export) of horses for slaughter for human consumption. In 2007 Rep.
Blumenauer received a Humane Legislator of the Year award for his support of
HSUS initiatives. In 2014 Fitzpatrick received $6,000 and Blumenauer received
$5,000 in donations from the Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF), placing
them in the top 11% of House recipients.
In a press release Fitzpatrick stated,
“This Congress I am honored to take on a leadership role in promoting animal
protection alongside my trusted colleague, Earl Blumenauer. I look forward to
building upon the achievements of the 113th Congressional Animal
Protection Caucus and continuing to foster bipartisan support for common-sense
animal welfare laws.”
Thank you for reading. Cross posting is encouraged.
The world not only belongs to those who show up, it's controlled by the
best informed and most motivated.
Sportsmen's and Animal Owners' Voting Alliance
Working to identify and elect supportive legislators
ACTIVISTS CHARGED BY FBI FOR RELEASING MINKS
SAN DIEGO, July 24, 2015. Animal-rights activists Joseph
Buddenberg and Nicole Kissane were arrested by the FBI today and charged with
terrorizing the fur industry during cross-country road trips in which they
released thousands of mink from farms around the country and vandalized various
properties. According to a federal grand jury indictment unsealed today,
Buddenberg and Kissane caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage during
the nationwide spree in the summer of 2013. The indictment alleges that the
pair snuck onto farms and freed minks and destroyed breeding records in Idaho,
Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania during multiple trips, and in one
case they released a bobcat from a farm in Montana.
The defendants were charged under the Conspiracy to Violate the Animal
Enterprise Terrorism Act. They were arrested in Oakland this morning by agents
from the FBI’s San Francisco field office. The government will seek the removal
of Buddenberg and Kissane to the Southern District of California to face
charges.
In one instance described in the indictment, the defendants
traveled from Oregon to San Diego in their 2012 Honda Fit on July 15, 2013 and
used paint, paint stripper, a super glue-type substance, butyric acid, muriatic
acid and glass etchant to vandalize Furs by Graf, a retail furrier located in
San Diego, as well as the Spring Valley and La Mesa residences and personal
property of the current and former owners of the business.
To publicize their crimes, the defendants drafted “communiqués”
describing their conduct and posted them on websites associated with animal
rights extremists, the indictment said.
Among some of the incidents of vandalism cited in the indictment:
The defendants slashed tires of a meat distributor’s truck in San Francisco;
smashed windows and glued the door locks at a furrier business in Minneapolis,
Minnesota; vandalized and attempted to flood the Sun Prairie, Wisconsin home of
an employee of the North American Fur Auctions.
“Today’s indictment represents the collective efforts of several
FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF) around the country,” said Eric S.
Birnbaum, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office. “The FBI
and our JTTF partners will continue to investigate and seek the prosecution of
those who engage in similar criminal conduct for the purpose of advancing their
own personal agenda.” Source: FBI Press
Release: http://tinyurl.com/qx8e3kq
MESSAGE FROM NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH
(NABR)
HR 3136, sponsored by Rep. Rod Blum (R‐IA), would require
the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to post on USDA.gov its
table of penalty guidelines for violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act.
USDA acknowledged creation of this table in a 2010 press announcement but has not released
it to the public or Members of Congress.
Several Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for the
table from interested stakeholders were denied by USDA. USDA also refused to
provide the information when requested by Members of the Senate and House.
While an overwhelming majority of the regulated community
(researchers and veterinarians at colleges, universities, pharmaceutical
companies, hospitals) have a strong record of compliance, they and the public
have a right to know what penalties can be levied by USDA for non‐compliance
with the AWA. This right to know is the soul of open, transparent government,
especially when the issuance of financial penalties could impact American
competitiveness. If the general public can have knowledge of other penalties
like littering, jaywalking, or speeding, the same should apply to laws enforced
by USDA.
Publication of the table does not affect the deliberative
process of USDA's enforcement of the AWA. The table is intended to be a simple
guide to issue a specific dollar amount, where no debate or deliberation is
required. USDA, at this point, would have already determined that an
institution was not in compliance with the AWA. In fact, USDA claims in the May
2010 press release that the table is meant to serve as a deterrent to violating
the AWA. Knowledge of potential penalties could certainly serve as a deterrent
and bring trust, clarity and understanding to USDA's enforcement actions. But
only if released.
USDA has denied the public access to these documents
because it has said it allows the regulated community to weigh the estimated
cost for violation of the AWA. This is an instant and unfair assumption that
research institutions choose noncompliance. Nearly 80% of USDA's inspections of
animal research facilities receive a passing inspection. Additionally, no
research program, private or federal, has budget items designed specifically to
address levied fines.
Please use NABR’s Capwiz
site to send a pre‐written email directly to your
Member of Congress and urge them to support the ETA. This quick and easy‐to‐use
tool can be found at http://tinyurl.com/q6tnl2m
NORTH GEORGIA PROFESSOR RAISING FUNDS FOR AR ACTIVIST
A professor at the University of North Georgia is asking “every friend
of animals” to contribute money for the upkeep of a violent animal rights
extremist, Campus Reform reports.
Professor Barry Friedman has a day job teaching political science, but
he’s also a full-time animal lover, which one could deduce from the fact that
his professor page is topped by five different cat photos. As a result, he begs
those visiting his professor page to send money and any other support they can
to jailed animal rights activist Camille Marino. Friedman asks for money to go
to Marino’s jail commissary account, so she can “pay for food that is
compatible with her vegan diet, clothing, toiletries, postage, and telephone
calls.”
Marino has been jailed since February, not for her animal rights
activism, but rather because she violated a protective order following a
domestic violence accusation coming from fellow animal activist Steven Best, a
professor at the University of Texas at El Paso. Friedman describes Best as a
“rival” to Marino, using a protective order to sabotage her, while Best has
described Marino as a “sick individual, dangerous sociopath, and utter fraud
who is stalking me and the animal rights movement as a whole.”
Marino is the founder of the group Negotiation Is Over (NIO), which
advocates the use of violence to liberate animals used for laboratory testing.
The group’s Strategies and Tactics section includes a page that appears to
endorse violent assaults against not only college students involved with animal
testing, but also their friends and families. Read more at the Daily Caller http://tinyurl.com/n9qls9d
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment