OIL CITY, PA – Today, Animal Wellness Action announced its endorsement of U.S. Rep. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson in his re-election effort for the 15th Congressional District of Pennsylvania. As Ranking Member of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, Thompson has been the best Republican leader on animal welfare issues the Committee has seen. He was instrumental In the passage of several animal welfare measures on the 2018 Farm bill, including a ban on dogfighting and cockfighting everywhere In the United States, a ban on the sale of dog and cat meat, and a program to provide animal sheltering capacity at domestic violence centers, because many victims of domestic abuse won’t leave their animals behind.
“We applaud GT for his terrific work for animals and hope the good people of the 15th Congressional District will send him back to Washington, D.C. for another term to help both humans and animals alike,” said Marty Irby, executive director at Animal Wellness Action, and an 8-time world champion equestrian. “With his record on animal issues, as the top Republican on the House Agriculture Committee, and the Farm Bill set for action in 2013, GT has the potential to do more good for the voiceless than and other Ag Committee leader we’ve seen in a very long time.”
- “GT understands that the animal welfare is a core value in our society and it must be carefully weighted, whether in agriculture, wildlife management, or the pet trade,” said Wayne Pacelle, president at Animal Wellness Action. “Mistreating animals boomerangs against us in the form of social violence, zoonotic disease transmission, and other adverse outcomes that make all of us less safe.”
He has been a supporter of a wide range of other reforms.
Reducing Animal Testing: He is a cosponsor of the FDA Modernization Act to stop needless, costly, and inhumane animal testing. The measure would end an animal testing mandate for all new drug development protocols and allow for alternative methods when validated, helping reduce drug costs and time to market for palliatives and cures. That legislation is poised to pass this Congress. - Ending the Poaching of Bear Parts for Trade to China: Rep. Thompson is one of the leaders of the Bear Protection Act designed to help end the trade in bear gallbladders to China where these parts are sought after for bear bile that the Chinese Government has promoted as a treatment for COVID and other diseases with no scientific basis.
Stopping Horse Soring: Rep. Thompson has been a cosponsor of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act since the 113thCongress and voted in support of the measure in July of 2019 that would end one of the most egregious abuses in the equine show world, the painful practice of ‘soring’ Tennessee Walking Horses. He aligns not only with animal groups but also the Pennsylvania Horse Council on this issue. - Halting Shark Fin Sales: The Congressman is a cosponsor of the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act to ban the trade in the fins of sharks destined for soup pots. Both forms of wildlife trade involve killing an animal for one small body part for commercial trade.
- Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture: Rep. Thompson was a cosponsor of the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act that President Donald J. Trump signed into law in November of 2019, the very first anti-cruelty statute in American history that outlawed the most egregious crimes against animals on the federal level.