CHICAGO, IL – Animal Wellness Action announced its endorsement of U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley in his re-election effort for the 5th Congressional District of Illinois, hailing him as one of the leading lawmakers on animal welfare in the Congress.
Rep. Quigley is the lead author of the Big Cat Public Safety Act, H.R. 263, to stop the trade in big cats as pets or as props in commercial cub petting operations. He was tenacious in guiding the bill to the floor, passing it 274 – 137 and setting it up for Senate action. He has also been determined in taking on illegal cockfighting, leading an effort in his capacity as chairman of a key appropriations subcommittee to demand that the U.S. Postal Service crack down on the trade in live fighting animals through the U.S. mail. He enlisted 36 other House lawmakers to join him in making this request. His letter is here.
“Mike Quigley is a powerhouse when it comes to animal protection,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “He doesn’t simply introduce pro-animal legislation – he works to advance that legislation and fights to get the measures signed into law, as he’s doing with the Big Cat Public Safety Act. Illinois voters in the 5th Congressional District should give him another term to allow him to continue to advance anti-cruelty policies.”
Quigley is a supporter of a raft of other animal welfare policies.
- Enforcing Anti-Cruelty Laws: Rep. Quigley is a cosponsor of the Animal Cruelty Enforcement (ACE) Act that would establish a dedicated unit with funding at the U.S. Dept. of Justice to help enforce all national anti-cruelty statutes.
- 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. The Senate passed the version led by Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., and now the House is expected to back the measure promoted by Rep. Gooden.
- Ending Mink Farming and preventing new COVID variants from spawning: Rep. Quigley is an original cosponsor and one of the leaders of the MINKS Are Superspreaders Act that would bring an end to mink farming in the U.S. as mink have proven to be the number one superspreader of COVID besides humans. Mink pelts produced in the U.S. are produced solely for the purpose of selling archaic ‘luxury’ garments to the Chinese elite and while at least 5 variants of COVID has been spawned at mink farms around the globe, including one in the U.S.
- Stopping Horse Soring: Rep. Quigley has been a cosponsor of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act since the 113th Congress 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.
- Keeping horse meat off the table: The Congressman is a cosponsor of the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act that would permanently end horse slaughter of U.S. soil and the transport of horses and other equines across state and federal lines for that purpose. Illinois had one of the last operating plants in the U.S., and it was not shuttered until 2007.
- Greyhound Protection Act: He is a cosponsor of the Greyhound Protection Act that would end greyhound racing in the U.S. by closing out the last remaining pockets of this abusive and archaic enterprise that continues only at two tracks in the U.S.
- 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.
- “We applaud Mike Quigley’s tireless work for animals and hope the good people of the 5th District will send him back to Washington, D.C. to help humans and animals alike,” said Marty Irby, executive director at Animal Wellness Action. “Mr. Quigley’s leadership on the Big Cat Public Safety Act has been extraordinary and we believe we’ll soon see the measure enacted.”