Animal Wellness Action Blog

Critical insights into issues at the intersection of animals and politics​

Washington, D.C. — Today U.S. Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Charlie Crist (D-FL) introduced legislation to crack down on cruel “puppy mills” — large commercial dog breeding operations that breed large volumes of puppies to sell at pet stores and over the internet. The WOOF Act would amend the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit the U.S. … Read more

Last month, Priscilla Presley — wife of the late, great Elvis Presley, the “king of rock ‘n roll” — joined our team at Animal Wellness Action on Capitol Hill to voice her support for passage of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, a measure that’s been dangling in the wind in Congress for six years. … Read more

This report comes just days after lawmakers propose an anti-cruelty bill that includes a national prohibition on bestiality More than a few times in three decades of animal advocacy, I’ve learned about extreme practices toward animals and wondered how people could be so deadened to the suffering of animals or so diabolical that they could … Read more

Burning fossil fuels and raising and feeding billions of factory farmed animals is killing wild and domesticated animalsFor years, animal protection groups have conducted life-saving campaigns to prevent people from leaving pets in cars when the sun is shining and the outside temperatures hover at 65 or above. In no time, a car with shuttered … Read more

Will advance key public policy initiatives to help animals Washington, D.C. — Today veterinarian U.S. Reps. Kurt Schrader (D-OR) and Ted Yoho (R-FL) were joined by Reps. Steve Cohen (D-TN) Ron Estes (R-KS), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Chris Collins (R-NY) in introducing the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, H.R. 693. The bill was renamed … Read more

The same bill last year had 263 House cosponsors and is poised to pass in the chamber Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Reps. Gregorio Sablan (D-NMI) and Michael McCaul (R-TX) introduced the Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act of 2019 to end the trade in shark fins. The measure would prohibit the import, export, possession, trade, and … Read more

Bill obtained 219 cosponsors in the 115th Congress Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Vern Buchanan (R-FL) reintroduced the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act (HR 961) to end the slaughter of American horses for human consumption. The legislation would prohibit the sale and transport of equines for slaughter, effectively preventing horse … Read more

Washington, D.C. — Today, Priscilla Presley, U.S. Rep Steve Cohen (D-TN), and author and animal advocate Wayne Pacelle were recognized for their leadership and work to end the cruel practice of soring Tennessee Walking Horses. Awards were presented at the National Press Club by the Citizens Campaign Against Big Lick Animal Cruelty (CCABLAC) and its founder … Read more

U.S. District Court nullifies Iowa’s ag-gag law, while U.S. Supreme Court decides not to hear challenges to the nation’s strongest state animal protection laws Last week, a U.S. District Court declared Iowa’s ag-gag law unconstitutional, making it the fourth measure of its broad type to be struck down in part or in whole in the … Read more

In 18th- and 19th-century America, whaling fleets launching from Nantucket and New Bedford, in search of whales in the seven seas, powered a burgeoning economy. Working on a whaling ship was equal parts boring and back-breaking, tough and dangerous for the “iron men on wooden ships” plying the open ocean for months at a time. … Read more