Congressman praised for bipartisan leadership on animal welfare, public safety, and humane wildlife policy
Washington, D.C. — Animal Wellness Action, a national policy and political organization dedicated to advancing strong legal protections for animals, announced its endorsement of Rep. Don Davis for re-election in the Democratic primary election on March 3, 2026, for North Carolina’s 1st congressional district.
“Congressman Don Davis has demonstrated principled, bipartisan leadership grounded in the understanding that protecting animals is inseparable from protecting communities,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “His work reflects a deep commitment to public safety, fiscal responsibility, and humane stewardship.”
Since coming to Congress in 2023, Rep. Davis has emerged as a leading voice on animal welfare issues that intersect with public health, law enforcement, and responsible governance. Animal Wellness Action particularly applauds his leadership as a co-lead of the Greyhound Protection Act (H.R. 5017), legislation aimed at ending a gambling industry that has left countless dogs injured, confined, and discarded. Once a major spectator sport, greyhound racing now operates at just two tracks nationwide, following a voter-driven collapse. Dogs used for racing are often kept in stacked cages for up to 23 hours a day and suffer catastrophic injuries, including broken legs, paralysis, and death.
“Greyhounds deserve to be treated as companions, not gambling commodities,” Pacelle said. “Rep. Davis is helping to bring an end to a cruel and outdated practice.”
Rep. Davis has also shown strong leadership in combating organized animal cruelty through his co-sponsorship of the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act (H.R. 3946). The legislation strengthens federal animal fighting laws and provides law enforcement with additional tools to dismantle dogfighting and cockfighting rings—criminal enterprises often linked to narcotics trafficking, illegal gambling, gun-running, and human exploitation.
Animal Wellness Action further commends Rep. Davis’s exemplary work on humane wildlife policy. As a co-sponsor of the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act of 2025 (H.R. 4356), he is helping to reform the federal government’s approach to managing these iconic animals. The bill would phase out the use of helicopters and planes in roundups, require transparency through onboard cameras, and mandate an independent review of humane management alternatives, job creation opportunities, and the impacts of aircraft and drones on wild horses and burros.
The organization also strongly appreciates Rep. Davis’s co-sponsorship of H.J. Res. 111, the bipartisan Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the deeply flawed Barred Owl Management Strategy, which would authorize the killing of nearly 500,000 owls at a projected cost exceeding $1.3 billion. His subsequent call to suspend take permits further underscored his commitment to humane wildlife management and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. In addition, for the second consecutive congressional session, Rep. Davis opposed H.R. 845, legislation that would have weakened longstanding protections for gray wolves and undermined science-based wildlife management.
“Across these issues, Congressman Davis has consistently shown that humane treatment of animals, public safety, and fiscal responsibility go hand in hand,” Pacelle added. “How we treat animals is a meaningful measure of our society’s decency, and his leadership reflects a clear recognition of that truth.”
Animal Wellness Action urges Democratic primary voters in North Carolina’s 1st congressional district who values bipartisan problem-solving, ethical leadership, and humane public policy to support Rep. Don Davis in the March 3, 2026, primary election.
The full endorsement letter for Rep. Davis is here.