New Farm Bill Bans Dog and Cat Meat for Human Consumption

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman Mike Conaway from Midland who represents San Angelo is chairman of the House Agriculture Committee and recently led the passage of a wide ranging five year farm bill which President Trump is expected to sign Thursday.  According to Sara Amundson, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund “At a time when bipartisanship seemed a lost art in the 115th Congress, House and Senate Agriculture Committee leadership came together to finalize a Farm Bill that does right by animals. We are very grateful to Chairman Conaway for working so effectively with the other three Agriculture Committee leaders – Senators Roberts and Stabenow and Representative Peterson – to bring this deal together and get it over the finish line.”

The final version of the Farm Bill includes these three priority measures for animals:

Domestic Violence and Pets – Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act, S. 322/H.R. 909, to make it easier for family members to flee a dangerous situation by extending current federal domestic violence protections to include pets and authorizing grant money to help domestic violence shelters accommodate pets (as only 3 percent currently allow) or arrange for pet shelter.

Animal Fighting – Parity in Animal Cruelty Enforcement (PACE) Act, S. 2971/H.R. 4202, to ensure that current federal prohibitions on animal fighting activity are consistently applied in all U.S. jurisdictions including the U.S. territories, and thereby protect animals from vicious cruelty, protect communities from other criminal activity often linked to animal fighting, and reduce threats to public health and the food supply from the transmission of bird flu and other diseases.

Dog and Cat Meat – Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act, H.R. 1406/H.R. 6720, to ban domestic slaughter, trade, and import/export of dogs and cats for human consumption, and thereby prevent this appalling trade from taking hold in the U.S. while strengthening our country’s hand in seeking to end it worldwide. Around 30 million dogs and untold numbers of cats are the victims of this brutal industry globally every year, with animals often snatched off the street or stolen from loving families, still wearing collars, and subjected to unspeakable abuse only to end up on someone’s dinner plate.