Michigan bans extreme confinement of pigs and laying hens, but Rep. Huizenga voted to close key markets for farmers, siding with China’s Smithfield Foods over Michiganders
Washington D.C.— Animal Wellness Action, a national policy and political organization seeking to enhance and advance legal protections for animals, has endorsed Democratic challenger Sean McCann in the race to unseat his opponent, Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga, in Michigan’s 4th congressional district. The group noted that despite symbolically supporting only a handful of animal welfare policies in eight House terms, and in this Congress, he sided with the Chinese Communist Party over Michigan pigs and egg farmers.
In April, Huizenga voted in support of the 2026 House Farm Bill, which would federally overturn humane housing laws for pigs and other livestock raised to produce food sold in California and Massachusetts. Michigan has very similar state laws, and no farmers in the state use those extreme confinement methods favored by China’s Smithfield Foods. The vote has the potential, if it holds in the final Farm bill, to cut off critical markets for Michigan farmers who get a small premium by relying on cage-free housing systems. When she served as chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, now-retired Sen. Debbie Stabenow vigorously fought this attempt to undercut Michigan farmers and resisted attempts by China to expand its already massive footprint in pig production in the United States. Michigan’s retiring U.S. senator, Gary Peters, signed a letter with 31 of his colleagues expressing similar concerns about the pro-China Save Our Bacon Act to wipe out the states’ most important farm animal welfare laws.
Over eight terms in Congress, Huizenga has consistently and repeatedly taken anti-animal positions. For example, in his fourth term, he voted to remove federal restrictions on unsportsmanlike hunting practices like killing bear cubs and wolf pups in their dens, as well as baiting bears with tubs of food waste to lure them for an easy kill.
More recently, in his sixth term, he opposed legislation to protect public safety by stopping the commercial breeding and sale of lions, tigers, and other big cats. He also opposed strengthened enforcement of laws against the cruel practice of horse soring, in which show horses’ hooves are intentionally injured to create an exaggerated display for competitions. More recently, he has twice voted to strip Endangered Species Act protections from gray wolves, even though Michiganders voted twice in referenda to maintain basic protections for endangered wolves.
Through selective predation on infected animals, gray wolves are a bulwark against the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease, a brain-wasting disease that is a threat to the long-term viability of deer populations and therefore to deer hunting in the Upper Peninsula.
“Rep. Huizengahas talked a good game on trying to diminish China’s influence in the U.S. economy, but he’s aligned himself with the CCP in its aggressive efforts to expand its control of U.S. pork production,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “I feel confident Sean McCann will never sell out Michigan farmers or animal welfare advocates. Voters in Michigan’s 4th Congressional district should send a message to Huizenga by favoring McCann over a career politician who offers hollow promises about China but then sides with the CCP when it really counts.” (Our profile of Rep. Huizenga can be read here.)
Mr. McCann has served in the Michigan Legislature, serving first in the State House and subsequently in the State Senate. While in the State Legislature, McCann compiled a strong voting record in support of strengthening and enhancing state animal wellness and protection policies.
For example, in the State Senate, Mr. McCann opposed a measure in 2021 to prevent Lower Peninsula residents from serving on the state’s Wolf Management Advisory Council, whose members represent stakeholders in a variety of sectors, including animal advocacy and conservation. McCann also supported a law requiring convicted animal abusers to pay restitution to finance the rehoming of the animals they abused, and he voted to create a new state license plate, sales of which will fund the care of animals in shelters, as well as spay and neuter programs. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed both those measures into law this summer.
In addition to his anti-cruelty and wildlife protection work, McCann cosponsored consumer protection legislation requiring pet cemeteries to notify customers of changes to the ownership of land where their pets are buried. That bill was a response to a 2019 scandal in which a Livingston County pet cemetery closed when its lease expired, breaking a promise to provide “perpetual” care for deceased pets. The cemetery had been in operation since the 1970s and was the final resting place of an estimated 74,000 animals. Following a bitter legal battle, former pet owners were forced to exhume their loved ones’ remains or lose them forever.
“Sean McCann has a real chance to become one of Congress’s leaders on animal welfare issues,” added Mr. Pacelle. “He has stood up for anti-cruelty policies in the Michigan Senate, and I hope voters send him to Congress so he can build on that record at the federal level.” The group’s endorsement letter for Mr. McCann may be viewed here.