Congressman deserves support for steadfast leadership on numerous animal welfare issues
Washington, D.C. — Animal Wellness Action, a national policy and political organization seeking to enhance and advance legal protections for animals, has endorsed Rep. Kevin Mullin for re-election in the race for California’s 15th congressional district.
The group lauded his strong support for numerous animal welfare bills, including the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act (H.R. 2742) to crack down on illegal dogfighting and cockfighting, the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act (H.R. 3475) to end the slaughter of horses for human consumption, the FDA Modernization Act 3.0 (H.R. 7248) to promote animal-free testing in drug development, and the Addressing Digestive Distress in the Stomachs of Our Youth (ADD SOY) Act (H.R. 1619) to ease a production burden on dairy cows by offering children a nutritious non-dairy milk option in the National School Lunch Program.
“Kevin Mullin is one of the leaders on animal welfare in the U.S. Congress,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “He understands that cruelty to animals is wrong and that it’s typically bound up with other forms of social violence.”
Pacelle also commended Rep. Mullin for signing a letter opposing the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act (H.R. 4417), which would federally overturn certain voter-approved state laws to ensure the humane housing of farm animals, including California’s Proposition 12, which passed in a landslide ballot measure in 2018. Prop 12 was explicitly upheld as constitutional by a bloc of conservatives and liberals on the U.S. Supreme Court in an opinion authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump appointee. Nevertheless, the EATS Act is being pushed by the Chinese-owned factory farming company Smithfield Foods in hopes of undercutting the multi-million-dollar investment many California family farmers have already made in more humane animal housing systems.
Also in his current term, Rep. Mullin voted against two measures the House Republican leadership brought up on the House floor that would have been disastrous for wildlife. The first bill (H.R. 764) would have stripped Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves across much of the lower 48 states, opening the door to trophy hunting and commercial trapping. Such a policy might also expose wolves to being recreationally run over with snowmobiles – a practice that came to light earlier this year in Wyoming. The second bill (H.R. 615) would have restricted land management officials from regulating the use of hazardous lead ammunition on public lands and waterways. Every year, ingested spent lead poisons millions of wild scavenger species, including our nation’s iconic bald eagles.
“Animal Wellness Action urges voters in the 15th congressional district of California who care about animal welfare and who abhor animal cruelty to back Rep. Mullin this fall,” Pacelle said.
The full endorsement letter for Rep. Mullin may be viewed here.