AWI News / Legislative Action Alert(s)

Please Contact Your Legislators
to Enlist Their Support on Several Animal Protection Bills!

Dear Humanitarian:

Great news! A number of key animal protection bills are moving just months into the start of the new Congress. Senator John Kerry (D-MA) recently introduced the Shark Conservation Act of 2009 (S. 850), and its companion bill already passed the House earlier this year. The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act (H.R. 503/S. 727) is gaining support in both the House and Senate and the Restore Our American Mustangs (ROAM) Act (H.R. 1018) recently passed out of committee in the House. Please read on to learn more and to find out what you can do to help get these bills passed into law. More information on all of these issues is available at www.awionline.org.

SHARK FINNING

The Shark Conservation Act of 2009 (S. 850) – Introduced by Senator John Kerry (D-MA), the measure would strengthen enforcement of an existing federal prohibition on shark finning first established in the Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000. Shark finning describes the process of slicing off the fins from a live shark and then tossing the animal back into the water to die. The fin is then used in shark fin soup, a traditional Asian delicacy. The cruel practice has lead to the decline of some shark species by an estimated 75%. A House version of the bill passed earlier this year and AWI is pushing for quick passage through the Senate. For more information, please visit http://www.awionline.org/news/2008/House_sharkfinban.htm.

What You Can Do: Ask your Senators to cosponsor S. 850. To send them an email from AWI's Compassion Index, go here; http://capwiz.com/compassionindex/issues/alert/?alertid=13210871

HORSE SLAUGHTER

The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009 (H.R. 503/S. 727) – Recently introduced by House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and Representative Dan Burton (R-IN), and in the Senate by Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and John Ensign (R-NV), the bill addresses the cruelty of horse slaughter by criminalizing the practice. Although horse slaughter doesn’t currently occur on US soil, more than 100,000 American horses were sent to Mexico and Canada last year for slaughter. The meat is consumed in Europe and Asia where it is considered a gourmet delight. With strong penalty and enforcement provisions, the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act will ensure that our horses are no longer exported for slaughter, and will prevent the establishment of new plants in this country. For more information, please visit http://www.awionline.org/legislation/horse_slaughter.

What you can do: Ask your Representative to cosponsor H.R. 503 and ask your Senators to cosponsor S. 727. To send them an email from AWI's Compassion Index, go here for your Representative; http://capwiz.com/compassionindex/issues/alert/?alertid=12443456

or here for your Senator - http://capwiz.com/compassionindex/issues/alert/?alertid=13041801


Sincerely,
Cathy Liss
President

For over 58 years, AWI has been the leading voice for animals across the country and on Capitol Hill. Please join us in our ongoing campaigns to reduce the sum total of pain and fear inflicted on animals by humans. Sign up for AWI eAlerts to receive the latest news on what you can do to help us protect all animals: http://www.awionline.org/joinus.