Tenure: 118th–119th Congresses
Years of Service: 2023–Present
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove has quickly established herself as a strong and engaged advocate for animal protection during her time in Congress. While she has not yet developed the extensive legislative portfolio of some of the House’s most prolific animal welfare champions, she has demonstrated meaningful leadership on several important issues, particularly wildlife conservation. Her record combines a consistently favorable voting history with visible advocacy on one of the most controversial wildlife-management debates in recent years.
One of the defining features of Kamlager-Dove’s animal protection record has been her opposition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s plan to kill hundreds of thousands of barred owls across the Pacific Northwest. The plan, approved in 2024, envisioned the killing of as many as 450,000 to 470,000 barred owls over a thirty-year period in an effort to reduce competition with northern spotted owls. Kamlager-Dove emerged as one of Congress’s most vocal critics of the proposal.
In March 2025, she co-led a bipartisan congressional letter urging the Interior Department to halt funding for the program, arguing that it represented an unprecedented and extraordinarily expensive wildlife-killing initiative with uncertain prospects for success. The letter raised concerns about both the ecological consequences and the projected cost to taxpayers, which could exceed $1 billion over the life of the program.
Her involvement did not end there. Kamlager-Dove later signed a second bipartisan congressional letter urging the Interior Department to suspend permits authorizing the killing of barred owls and reconsider the program altogether. She was also a cosponsor of H.J. Res. 111, officially expressing congressional disapproval of the plan. Few members of Congress invested as much effort in challenging the proposal, making her one of the most visible congressional advocates for a more humane and scientifically rigorous approach to wildlife management.
Beyond the owl issue, Kamlager-Dove has built a favorable record on a range of animal protection matters. She has consistently supported efforts to strengthen protections for animals and wildlife. She signed the congressional letter opposing the EATS Act and later signed the Democratic congressional letter opposing the Save Our Bacon Act, both of which sought to undermine state animal welfare laws such as California’s Proposition 12. By opposing both measures, she defended states’ authority to establish humane treatment standards for farm animals and resisted federal efforts to override voter-approved animal welfare protections.
Her voting record on major animal protection issues has likewise been consistently favorable. Kamlager-Dove voted against H.R. 845, preserving federal Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves. She voted against H.R. 556, preserving federal authority to regulate lead ammunition and lead fishing tackle on federal lands and waters. She voted against the Moore Amendment, opposing efforts to weaken federal restrictions on commercial greyhound racing. She also voted against the Greene Amendment, supporting continued federal engagement with cultivated meat and alternative food technologies. Finally, she voted against the Farm, Food, and National Security Act, including provisions that would have preempted California’s Proposition 12 and other state farm-animal welfare laws.
What distinguishes Kamlager-Dove is not the breadth of her animal-protection portfolio but the depth of her engagement on a specific issue. By helping lead congressional opposition to the federal barred owl-killing program, she demonstrated a willingness to engage deeply on a difficult and politically contentious wildlife issue where many lawmakers remained silent. That type of issue-specific leadership deserves significant recognition, even if it has not yet translated into a broader portfolio of animal-protection legislation.
Taken as a whole, Kamlager-Dove’s record places her in the Strong Leader category. While she has not assembled the extensive legislative portfolio of some of Congress’s most active animal protection champions, her leadership against the barred owl-killing program, support for H.J. Res. 111, opposition to EATS and Save Our Bacon, and consistently favorable voting record make her a valuable and effective ally on animal protection issues.
Notable Actions
119th Congress
✅ Cosponsor of the Stop Billion-Dollar FWS Plan to Kill Half a Million Owls, H.J. Res. 111, a Congressional Review Act resolution to nullify the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan to kill approximately 450,000 barred owls to reduce competition with northern spotted owls.
✅ Cosponsor of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, H.R. 1684, to strengthen enforcement against the cruel practice of soring horses. The bill would ban devices associated with soring, require independent USDA-trained inspectors, increase penalties for violations, and strengthen the Horse Protection Act to better protect Tennessee Walking Horses and other affected breeds from intentional abuse.
✅ Cosponsor of the Puppy Protection Act, H.R. 2253, bipartisan legislation to strengthen federal standards of care for dogs kept by commercial breeders by improving requirements for housing, veterinary care, exercise, socialization, and humane breeding practices.
✅ Cosponsor of the Better CARE for Animals Act, H.R. 3112, to strengthen enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act by expanding federal authority to investigate and prosecute animal cruelty violations and improve coordination between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Justice.
✅ Signed the bipartisan congressional letter opposing the large-scale killing of barred owls.
✅ Signed congressional letter opposing the SOB Act that would erode states’ rights, undermine family farmers, and expand foreign influence over U.S. food production.
✅ Signed a congressional letter opposing the EATS/SOB Act that would erode states’ rights, undermine family farmers, and expand foreign influence over U.S. food production.
✅ Supported House passage of the FDA Modernization Act 3.0, H.R. 2821, which passed by voice vote under suspension of the rules on July 20, 2026. The bipartisan legislation directs the FDA to update its regulations to fully implement the 2022 law allowing scientifically valid non-animal methods to be used instead of animal testing in drug development.
✅ Voted “Nay” on H.R. 556, the Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act (House Roll Call Vote 93), to prohibit federal land management agencies from restricting the use of toxic lead ammunition and fishing tackle on public lands and waters to protect wildlife from poisoning. The bill passed the House 215–202. A “Nay” vote is the pro-animal vote.
✅ Voted “Nay” on H.R. 845, the Pet and Livestock Protection Act (House Roll Call Vote 360), to remove federal Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves across much of the United States and restricted judicial review of future wolf management decisions. The bill passed the House 211–204. A “Nay” vote is the pro-animal position.
✅ Voted “Nay” on the Riley Moore Amendment to H.R. 7567 (House Roll Call Vote 149), to weaken the Farm Bill’s Greyhound Protection Act provisions by creating a special exemption allowing commercial greyhound racing to continue in West Virginia indefinitely. The House rejected the amendment 187–237. A “Nay” vote is the pro-animal position.
✅ Voted “Nay” on H.R. 7567, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act (House Roll Call Vote 154), to pass the Farm Bill, which included a provision to overturn state laws in California and Massachusetts restricting in-state sales of fresh pork sourced from farms that do not provide minimum space requirements for the housing of pregnant pigs. The bill passed the House 224–200. A “Nay” vote is the pro-animal position.
✅ Voted “Nay” on the Biggs Amendment to H.R. 3838 (House Roll Call Vote 259), to exempt defense-related activities from the requirements of the Endangered Species Act, eliminating protections for endangered and threatened species and their critical habitat on military lands and during defense operations. The House rejected the amendment 200–228. A “Nay” vote is the pro-animal position.
✅ Voted “Nay” on the Greene Amendment to H.R. 3838 (House Roll Call Vote 254), to prohibit the Department of Defense from using FY2026 funds for the research, development, procurement, or promotion of cell-cultured meat, an emerging alternative to conventional slaughter-based meat production. The House rejected the amendment 194–236, with 1 voting present. A “Nay” vote is the pro-animal position.
118th Congress
✅ Cosponsor of the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act, H.R. 2742, to strengthen federal enforcement against animal fighting and related criminal activity.
✅ Cosponsor of the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act, H.R. 3475, to ban U.S.-based horse slaughter and the export of horses for slaughter for human consumption.
✅ Cosponsor of Greyhound Protection Act, H.R. 3894, to phase out U.S. greyhound racing, a practice long in decline and operational at just two tracks.
✅ Cosponsor of the ADD SOY Act, H.R. 1619, to give kids access to a plant-based milk option in the National School Lunch Program, in addition to the existing cow’s milk offerings.
✅ Cosponsor of the Puppy Protection Act, H.R. 1624, bipartisan legislation to strengthen federal standards of care for dogs kept by commercial breeders by improving requirements for housing, veterinary care, exercise, socialization, and humane breeding practices.
✅ Cosponsor of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, H.R. 3090, bipartisan legislation to strengthen enforcement against the cruel practice of soring horses. The bill would ban devices associated with soring, require independent USDA-trained inspectors, increase penalties for violations, and strengthen the Horse Protection Act to better protect Tennessee Walking Horses and other affected breeds from intentional abuse.
✅ Cosponsor of the Better CARE for Animals Act, H.R. 5041, to strengthen enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act by expanding federal authority to investigate and prosecute animal cruelty violations and improve coordination between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Justice.
✅ Signed a bipartisan letter opposing the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act, H.R. 4417. The lawmakers warned that the bill would nullify state agriculture and animal-welfare laws, including California’s Prop 12 and Massachusetts’ Question 3, and could broadly undermine more than 1,000 state laws while targeting modest consumer demand for more humanely raised pork.
✅ Voted “Nay” on H.R. 764 (House Roll Call Vote 169), legislation to remove federal protections for gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act across most of the United States and return management authority to the states. Wildlife advocates warned that the bill would undermine science-based wildlife management and threaten the long-term recovery of gray wolf populations. The House passed the bill 209–205. A “Nay” vote is the pro-animal position.
✅ Voted “Nay” on H.R. 615 (House Roll Call Vote 167), legislation to bar the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture from prohibiting or regulating the use of toxic lead ammunition and fishing tackle on federal lands and waters made available for hunting or fishing. Lead ammunition and tackle poison wildlife, including eagles, loons, condors, and other animals that ingest spent lead fragments or lost fishing gear. The House passed the bill 214–201. A “Nay” vote is the pro-animal position.