Tenure: 105th–119th Congresses
Years of Service: 1997–Present
From the small northern Maine town of Caribou, Sen. Susan Collins has built a strong animal protection record among Senate Republicans over her long tenure in Congresses. While no lawmaker’s record is without nuance, Collins has regularly demonstrated sustained, proactive leadership on a wide range of priorities, including animal fighting policies, anti-cruelty enforcement, horse welfare, big cat protection, and linking animal abuse to broader public safety concerns. Her decades-long engagement reflects a pragmatic, bipartisan approach that has produced tangible legislative progress.
Her most glaring demerit was her support for Senator Dan Sullivan’s CRA resolution to unwind an Obama-era U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rulemaking to stop ruthless predator killing practices on national wildlife refuges in Alaska, including land-and-shoot killing of wolves and bears, killing bears and wolves in their dens, bear baiting of black and brown bears, and shooting swimming caribou.
Aside from that vote, what distinguishes Sen. Collins is the depth, consistency, and longevity of her commitment. Through repeated cosponsorship of high-impact bills, support for enforcement enhancements, and willingness to advance measures that intersect animal welfare with public safety and consumer protection, she has moved well beyond selective participation to become a reliable and constructive leader on animal protection within the Senate Republican conference. She has done this at times, when she has been in a small minority of the Senate GOP Conference. Her efforts on horse welfare, anti-cruelty initiatives, and big cat protections have helped drive meaningful bipartisan progress.
Taken together, Sen. Collins’s record firmly places her among the strongest congressional allies for animal protection with the Senate Republican Conference. Her sustained leadership over multiple decades demonstrates a steadfast dedication to combating cruelty, modernizing outdated practices, and advancing policies that benefit both animals and American communities. In an era of divided government, she remains an important and pragmatic voice for humane reform.
Notable Actions
119th Congress
✅ Lead sponsor of the AFTER Act, S. 4172, to provide a second chance for dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and nonhuman primates used in federally funded research by requiring facilities to pursue adoption or sanctuary placement whenever feasible.
✅ Cosponsor of the Better CARE for Animals Act, S. 1538, 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.
✅ Cosponsor of the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act, S. 1454, to strengthen federal enforcement against animal fighting and related criminal activity.
Unlike many lawmakers who offer only occasional support, Collins has repeatedly stepped up as a cosponsor and champion of landmark measures. She has been a consistent cosponsor of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act across multiple Congresses, legislation that seeks to end the failed system of industry self-policing under the Horse Protection Act. The bill also is designed to ban abusive devices, strengthens penalties, and bolster USDA enforcement efforts to protect Tennessee Walking Horses and related breeds from the painful practice of soring—actions that address one of the most egregious forms of cruelty in competitive horse events.
Collins has also been a reliable supporter of efforts to combat animal fighting. She was the lead Republican on Sen. Booker’s bill, the Parity in Animal Cruelty Enforcement (PACE) Act, to extend all remaining federal prohibitions on animal fighting to the U.S. territories. That provision was included on the 2018 Farm bill. Prior to that, she supported Senator David Vitter’s amendment – included on the 2014 Farm bill – to make it a federal crime to attend or bring a minor to an animal fighting venture—another important step in disrupting these violent operations. And before that, she supported Senator Maria Cantwell’s Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act to make animal fighting, and the sale of cockfighting implements federal felonies. She has is a cosponsored the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act to enhance enforcement of existing laws against dogfighting and cockfighting
Her work on wildlife and exotic animal protection stands out as well. Collins cosponsored the Big Cat Public Safety Act, helping advance this bipartisan measure (ultimately approved by voice vote in the Senate) to reduce the number of tigers, lions, and other big cats in substandard conditions. The legislation bans public contact activities and prohibits unlicensed possession, addressing both serious animal welfare failures and documented risks to public safety.
✅ Approved by unanimous consent the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, landmark legislation making the most egregious acts of intentional animal cruelty—including crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating, impaling, and other forms of torture—a federal felony when committed in interstate commerce, on federal property, or within federal jurisdiction. The measure strengthened the nation’s legal framework against animal cruelty and closed a longstanding gap in federal law by ensuring that the worst acts of animal abuse could be prosecuted even when state or local authorities could not act. The Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent.
Additional leadership includes cosponsorship of the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act to permanently ban the export of American horses for slaughter, the Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act linking animal abuse to domestic violence protections, and the Horseracing Integrity Act to curb doping and improve safety for racehorses. She also supported the landmark Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, which passed the Senate by unanimous consent and established federal felony penalties for the most egregious acts of animal torture.
✅ Voted “Aye” on the motion to proceed to S.J. Res. 69 (Senate Roll Call Vote 597), a joint resolution under the Congressional Review Act to bring the measure before the Senate for consideration to overturn the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Barred Owl Management Strategy, which authorized the large-scale killing of barred owls in Washington, Oregon, and California. An “Aye” vote is the pro-animal position because it supported moving forward with a vote to repeal the barred owl kill plan.
❌ Voted “Yea” on S.J. Res. 23 (Senate Roll Call Vote 122), a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn federal regulations strengthening implementation of the Endangered Species Act, including protections governing the listing of imperiled species and designation of critical habitat. A “Yea” vote is the anti-animal position because it supported eliminating stronger protections for threatened and endangered wildlife and their habitat.
More recently, in 2025, Collins voted in favor of advancing a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Barred Owl Management Strategy, a pro-animal position that opposed large-scale lethal control measures of the barred owl in the Old Growth forests of the Pacific Northwest.
118th Congress
✅ Cosponsor of the Better CARE for Animals Act, S. 2555, 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.
✅ Lead cosponsor of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, S. 4004, to end the failed system of industry self-policing under the Horse Protection Act by banning devices associated with horse soring, increasing penalties for violators, and strengthening USDA enforcement to protect Tennessee Walking Horses and related breeds from intentional abuse used to exaggerate their gait in competitions.
117th Congress
✅ Cosponsor of the Captive Primate Safety Act, S. 1588, to prohibit the private ownership, breeding, sale, transport, and other commercial activities involving nonhuman primates by amending the Lacey Act, while exempting accredited zoos, sanctuaries, research facilities, and certain other qualified entities. The legislation is designed to protect both public safety and the welfare of highly intelligent primates by ending the commercial pet trade in these animals.
✅ Lead sponsor of the AFTER Act, S. 1378, to provide a second chance for dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and nonhuman primates used in federally funded research by requiring facilities to pursue adoption or sanctuary placement whenever feasible.
✅ Lead cosponsor of the Big Cat Public Safety Act, S. 1210, to reduce the number of tigers, lions and other big cats living in substandard conditions and to protect public safety by banning public contact activities with these animals and prohibiting their possession by individuals and entities lacking a USDA license. H.R. 263 – Big Cat Public Safety Act.
✅ Lead cosponsor of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, S. 2295, to crack down on the cruel practice of soring, in which trainers inflict severe pain on the hooves and legs of Tennessee walking horses and related breeds to force them to perform an unnaturally high-stepping gait for competitions.
✅ Senate Approved by voice vote – the Big Cat Public Safety Act, H.R. 263 to reduce the number of tigers, lions and other big cats living in substandard conditions and protect public safety by banning public contact activities with these animals and prohibiting their possession by individuals and entities lacking a USDA license.
❌ Voted “Yea” on Sen. Ron Johnson’s Motion to Instruct conferees on H.R. 4521 (Senate Roll Call Vote 152), which sought to reject a House-passed provision prohibiting commercial mink farming in the United States. A “Yea” vote is the anti-animal position because it supported removing the House provision to end commercial mink farming.
116th Congress
✅ Cosponsor of the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act, S. 877, to end the U.S. commercial trade in shark fins by prohibiting their sale, purchase, and transport, helping reduce the global demand that drives the cruel practice of shark finning. Core provisions of the bill were later incorporated into the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, which was signed into law in December 2022, making the United States one of the world’s largest nations to ban the domestic shark fin trade.
✅ Cosponsor of the Humane Cosmetics Act, S. 2886, bipartisan legislation to phase out animal testing for cosmetics and prohibit the sale of cosmetics developed or manufactured using new animal testing. The bill encouraged the use of modern, non-animal testing methods while helping align U.S. policy with the growing international movement to end cosmetic testing on animals.
✅ Lead cosponsor of the Rescuing Animals With Rewards (RAWR) Act, S. 1590, to combat international wildlife trafficking by authorizing rewards for information leading to the disruption and prosecution of transnational wildlife trafficking networks.
✅ Cosponsor of the Big Cat Public Safety Act, S. 2561, to reduce the number of tigers, lions and other big cats living in substandard conditions and protect public safety by banning public contact activities with these animals and prohibiting their possession by individuals and entities lacking a U.S. Department of Agriculture license.
✅ Lead cosponsor of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, S. 1007, to crack down on the cruel practice of “soring,” in which trainers deliberately inflict severe pain on the hooves and legs of Tennessee walking horses and related breeds to force them to perform an unnaturally high- stepping gait for competitions.
✅ Cosponsor of Horseracing Integrity Act, S. 1820, to address widespread doping—a key contributing factor in frequent horse fatalities on American racetracks—by banning race-day medication, increasing out-of-competition testing and establishing uniform national rules governing use of drugs in racehorses.
115th Congress
✅ Cosponsor of the Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act, S. 322, which expands current federal domestic violence protections to include pets and authorizes grant money to help domestic violence shelters and other entities arrange shelter for survivors with pets.
✅ Cosponsor of the Parity in Animal Cruelty Enforcement (PACE) Act, S. 2971, bipartisan legislation to close a loophole in federal law by banning animal fighting in all U.S. territories, including cockfighting, and ensuring consistent enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act nationwide.
✅ Lead cosponsor of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, S. 2957, to crack down on the cruel practice of “soring,” in which trainers deliberately inflict pain on the hooves and legs of Tennessee walking horses and related breeds to force them to perform an unnaturally high-stepping gait for competitions.
✅ Lead cosponsor of the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act, S. 1706, to protect horses and consumers by prohibiting the transport and export of U.S. horses to slaughter for human consumption. American horses are not raised for food and are routinely given drugs that can be toxic to people if ingested. Horse slaughter is cruel, and the U.S. public overwhelmingly opposes it.
✅ Approved by unanimous consent the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, S. 654, bipartisan legislation to make the most egregious acts of intentional animal cruelty—including crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating, impaling, and other forms of torture—a federal felony when committed in interstate or foreign commerce or within federal jurisdiction. The Senate passed the legislation by unanimous consent in December 2017.
❌ Voted “Aye” on H.J. Res. 69, a Congressional Review Act (Senate Roll Call Vote 92) resolution to overturn an Obama administration rule prohibiting killing bear cubs and wolf pups in their dens, baiting bears with food to shoot them at close range, and aerial shooting of wolves and other predators. The resolution passed the Senate 52–47. An “Aye” vote is the anti-animal position because it repealed the rule protecting wildlife from these inhumane and unsporting predator-killing practices on national wildlife refuges in Alaska.
✅ Voted “Yea” on the conference report for the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Farm Bill), H.R. 2 (Senate Roll Call Vote 259), which included major animal-protection provisions prohibiting dog and cat meat consumption, extending the federal animal-fighting prohibition to all U.S. territories, and providing protections for domestic-violence survivors and their pets. The final bill also excluded the House-passed King Amendment, which threatened state animal-welfare laws. The Senate approved the Farm Bill 87–13.
114th Congress
✅ Cosponsor of the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, S. 1831, to make extreme acts of intentional animal cruelty a federal crime when committed in interstate or foreign commerce or within federal jurisdiction.
✅ Cosponsor of the Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act, S. 1559, which expands current federal domestic violence protections to include pets and authorizes grant money to help domestic violence shelters and other entities arrange shelter for survivors with pets.
✅ Lead cosponsor of the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act, S. 1214, to protect horses and consumers by prohibiting the transport and export of U.S. horses to slaughter for human consumption. American horses are not raised for food and are routinely given drugs that can be toxic to people if ingested. Horse slaughter is cruel, and the U.S. public overwhelmingly opposes it.
✅ Lead cosponsor of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, S. 1121, to crack down on the cruel practice of “soring,” in which trainers deliberately inflict pain on the hooves and legs of Tennessee walking horses and related breeds to force them to perform an unnaturally high-stepping gait for competitions.
113th Congress
✅ Lead cosponsor of the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments, S. 820, to establish federal housing and welfare standards for egg-laying hens and transition the egg industry away from conventional barren battery cages.
✅ Lead cosponsor of the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act, S. 666, bipartisan legislation to strengthen federal animal fighting laws by prohibiting knowingly attending or bringing a child to a dogfight, cockfight, or other illegal animal fighting venture, increasing penalties for those who support these cruel criminal enterprises.
✅ Cosponsor of the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act, S. 541, to protect horses and consumers by prohibiting the transport and export of U.S. horses to slaughter for human consumption. American horses are not raised for food and are routinely given drugs that can be toxic to people if ingested. Horse slaughter is cruel, and the U.S. public overwhelmingly opposes it.
✅ Lead cosponsor of the Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act, S. 395, to strengthen federal oversight of large-scale commercial dog breeders, including online puppy sellers, and require humane standards for housing and daily exercise.
✅ Cosponsor of the Captive Primate Safety Act, S. 1463, bipartisan legislation to prohibit the interstate trade of monkeys, apes, and other nonhuman primates for the exotic pet trade, protecting these highly intelligent animals from exploitation while reducing public health and safety risks associated with private ownership.
✅ Cosponsor of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, S. 1406, to crack down on the cruel practice of “soring,” in which trainers deliberately inflict pain on the hooves and legs of Tennessee walking horses and related breeds to force them to perform an unnaturally high-stepping gait for competitions.
112th Congress
✅ Lead cosponsor of the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act, S. 810, to phase out invasive research on chimpanzees and other great apes, end their breeding for research, and retire federally owned great apes to suitable sanctuaries for lifetime care.
✅ Cosponsor of the Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act, S. 707, to strengthen federal oversight of large-scale commercial dog breeders, including online puppy sellers, and require humane standards for housing and daily exercise of dogs.
✅ Cosponsor of the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments, S. 3239, to establish federal housing and welfare standards for egg-laying hens and transition the egg industry away from conventional barren battery cages.
✅ Lead cosponsor of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, S. 1176, to prohibit the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the United States and the transport or export of American horses for slaughter abroad.
✅ Voted “Aye” on the Vitter Amendment (S. Amdt. 2363) to the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012, S. 3240 (Senate Roll Call Vote 154). The Vitter amendment makes it a federal crime to attend or bring a minor to an animal fighting venture. It passed 88–11. An “Aye” vote is the pro-animal position forbidding attendance at staged animal fights.
111th Congress
✅ Cosponsor of the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act, S. 3841, to prohibit the creation, sale, distribution, advertising, marketing, and exchange of obscene videos depicting extreme acts of animal cruelty.
✅ Cosponsor of the Truth in Fur Labeling Act (S. 1076) to strengthen consumer transparency by requiring all real fur products to be accurately labeled, eliminating an exemption that allowed small amounts of fur to go undisclosed. The bill also corrected misleading labeling by requiring “Asiatic Raccoon” fur to be identified as “Raccoon Dog,” helping consumers make informed purchasing decisions and reducing deceptive marketing practices.
✅ Lead cosponsor of the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act (S. 3694) to phase out the use of chimpanzees in invasive biomedical research, permanently end federal breeding of chimpanzees for such research, and retire federally owned chimpanzees to accredited sanctuaries. The legislation recognized that chimpanzees had become poor models for human disease research while improving animal welfare and reducing taxpayer costs associated with maintaining unused research animals.
❌ Voted “Yea” on Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s Amendment (S.Amdt. 599) H.R. 1105, the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 (Senate Roll Call Vote 82). The amendment sought to preserve a Bush administration rule that weakened Endangered Species Act protections by limiting independent scientific review of federal agency actions affecting threatened and endangered wildlife. The amendment was rejected, allowing the Obama administration to restore stronger Endangered Species Act safeguards. A “Yea” vote was the anti-animal position because it supported retaining weaker Endangered Species Act protections and reducing independent scientific oversight of actions affecting threatened and endangered species.
110th Congress
✅ Cosponsor of the Pet Safety and Protection Act (S. 714) to prohibit federally licensed research facilities from obtaining dogs and cats from random-source Class B dealers, helping prevent the theft of family pets and ending the use of animals acquired through auctions, fraudulent “free to good home” advertisements, and other unreliable sources for biomedical research.
✅ Lead cosponsor of legislation (S. 261) to strengthen federal penalties against animal fighting. The bill increased violations of the federal animal fighting law to felony offenses and prohibited interstate and international commerce in cockfighting implements, providing law enforcement with stronger tools to combat organized dogfighting, cockfighting, and related criminal enterprises.
109th Congress
✅ Approved by unanimous consent the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act, H.R. 3858, requiring state and local emergency preparedness plans to account for the rescue, care, shelter, and evacuation needs of people with household pets and service animals during disasters. The Senate passed the measure with an amendment by unanimous consent on August 4, 2006, and it became law.
❌ Voted “Nay” on the Ensign Horse Slaughter Amendment (Senate Roll Call Vote 237) to the FY2006 Agriculture Appropriations bill, which sought to prohibit federal funding for USDA inspections of horses slaughtered for human consumption. The Senate approved the amendment by a bipartisan vote of 69–28. A “Nay” vote was the anti-animal position because it opposed an effort to protect American horses from slaughter for human consumption.
✅ Voted “Yea” on the Ensign–Byrd Amendment (Senate Roll Call Vote) to the FY2006 Agriculture Appropriations Act to prohibit federal funding for USDA inspections of horse slaughter facilities and horses exported for slaughter.
106th Congress
❌ Voted “Yea” on the motion to table the Torricelli Amendment (S.Amdt. 1571) to H.R. 2466, the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for FY2000 (Senate Roll Call Vote 268). The amendment would have prohibited the use of steel-jawed leghold traps and neck snares in units of the National Wildlife Refuge System, except for limited management purposes. This vote defeated the amendment and allowed the continued use of these inhumane trapping methods on national wildlife refuges.