Rep. Fitzpatrick is the leading GOP champion of animal welfare, while Rep. Bresnahan voted to gut states’ rights on farm animal welfare and to weaken FIGHT Act, flouting wishes of Pennsylvania farmers and law enforcement
WASHINGTON — Animal Wellness Action (AWA), a national policy and political organization seeking to enhance and advance legal protections for animals, today announced “independent expenditure” campaigns for Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-1st, and against fellow Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-8th. Animal Wellness Action is reaching out to tens of thousands of animal welfare donors in the districts with advertising.
“Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick is the leading Republican advocate for animal welfare in the U.S. House, while Rep. Rob Bresnahan voted to enable more factory farming and dogfighting and cockfighting in the Commonwealth and beyond,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “We urge Bucks County voters to return Fitzpatrick to the House, and we ask NEPA voters to oust Bresnahan.”
Rep. Fitzpatrick opposed the 2026 Farm bill because Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., and Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, jammed in a provision, known as the Save Our Bacon (SOB) Act, to repeal the states’ most important farm animal welfare laws (Prop 12 and Question 3) and to override the votes of 10 million Americans.
Fitzpatrick was also one of a large group of Republicans and Democrats who cosponsored an amendment, led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., to strip the provision, but Thompson worked with the Rules Committee to block consideration of the amendment, which would have passed in a landslide. The SOB Act was pushed by China’s Smithfield Foods to allow it to gain an even larger share of U.S. pork production, with its control of domestic production standing at an astonishing 25 percent.
“Brian Fitzpatrick is a leader on animal protection who stands up to his party when it makes the wrong call on an issue,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “His flawless record on animal welfare warrants our enthusiastic endorsements.”
On the other side of the issue, Bresnahan supported that Farm bill to gut basic farm animal welfare laws upheld as constitutionally sound by the U.S. Supreme Court in NPPC v. Ross in May 2023, with conservative Justices Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett leading the majority opinion. “Pennsylvania pig producers were outspoken in favor of keeping Prop 12 in place because it provided critical markets for them,” said Natalie Ahwesh, Pennsylvania state director for Animal Wellness Action.
After cosponsoring H.R. 3946, the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act, Bresnahan reneged and supported an amendment from Rep. Tracy Mann, R-Kan., to remove three of the four provisions of the policy reform, including seizure of dogfighting pits and other equipment after conviction of the perpetrator.
“It’s time for voters who want to stop animal cruelty and to help family farmers to oust Rep. Rob Bresnahan,” said Pacelle. “You don’t tout your support for a priority animal welfare bill and then renege when it comes time to vote on it.” The Pennsylvania Sheriffs’ Association, the Pennsylvania District Attorneys’ Association, the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police, and more than 50 other Pennsylvania law enforcement agencies endorsed the intact FIGHT Act.
Fitzpatrick is the lead author of the Puppy Protection Act, H.R. 2253, to enhance care standards for dogs used for commercial breeding, the Kangaroo Protection Act, H.R. 1992, to end the commercial sale of products made from kangaroo skins and other kangaroo parts, and the Prevent All Soring Tactics Act, H.R. 1684, to stop the intentional injuring of Tennessee Walking horses to compel them to exaggerate their gait at horse shows.
A profile of Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and a review of his career-long record on animal welfare can be seen here. Animal Wellness Action’s advertisement supporting Fitzpatrick’s re-election bid can be seen here. A profile of Rep. Bresnahan’s one-term record on animal welfare can be seen here. The group’s ad opposing Rep. Bresnahan can be found here