BRADENTON, FL – Today Animal Wellness Action announced its endorsement of U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., because of his outstanding advocacy on animal welfare issues, including his efforts to end horse slaughter and repeal animal testing mandates at the FDA.
“Congressman Buchanan takes on the biggest animal welfare problems in the nation and typically he gets his reform measures over the finish line,” said Wayne Pacelle, president at Animal Wellness Action. “He is the architect of the federal anti-cruelty law, and now he’s on the cusp of passing a measure to dramatically reduce numbers of dogs and primates used in needless, painful, and scientifically suspect testing on animals in the laboratory.”
“Vern Buchanan is a tireless advocate for animals who continues to see success in securing the enactment of new laws to protect the voiceless we all care so deeply about,” said Marty Irby, executive director at Animal Wellness Action. “We applaud Vern’s work and hope the voters that care about animals will send him back to Washington, D.C. for another term.”
Buchanan has been a leader on numerous animal protection measures in the U.S. House:
- Buchanan is leading the FDA Modernization Act to stop needless, costly, and inhumane animal testing. The measure recently passed the U.S. Senate and would end animal testing mandates at the FDA by amending the 1938 statute – a Depression-era requirement for animal testing for all new drug development protocols, allow for alternative methods when validated, and help reduce drug costs and time to market for voters.
- Buchanan was one of the leaders of the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act that was signed into law by President Donald J. Trump in 2019 – the first ever anti-cruelty statute in American history that outlawed the most egregious of animal abuses on the federal level.
- Buchanan is one of the leaders of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act that would amend the 1970 Horse Protection Act to end the painful practice of soring – the intentional infliction of pain to Tennessee Walking Horses front limbs to induce an artificial pain-based gait known as the ‘Big Lick’ that’s prized at horse shows. The measure passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee in September.
• Buchanan is one of the leaders of the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act that would permanently end the slaughter of American equines on U.S. soil and the transport of equines across state and federal lines for that purpose.
• Buchanan is leading the Manatee Protection Act to relist Florida manatees as an endangered species.
Buchanan has cosponsored and backed a broad range of other important reforms:
- Buchanan cosponsored and voted for the Big Cat Public Safety Act that passed the House in July and would ban the private ownership of dangerous big cats as well as the practice of ‘cub petting’ that continues to fuel overbreeding and unfunded mandates on animal rescues. He also is co-lead of the Captive Primate Safety Act to halt the trade in primates as pets.
- Buchanan joined as a original cosponsor of the MINKS Are Superspreaders Act to end mink farming in the U.S. as mink have proven to be the number one superspreader of COVID besides humans and have already spawned at least one new variant in the U.S.
- Buchanan joined as an original cosponsor of the Greyhound Protection Act that would end the archaic practice of Greyhound racing in the U.S.
- Buchanan joined a letter to the U.S. Postal Service Inspector calling on the Inspector to crackdown against illegal animal fighting shipments to Guam and other countries throughout the world. Dogfighting and cockfighting, are often bound up with illegal gambling, narcotics trafficking, and human-on-humane violence.
- Buchanan cosponsored the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act that would ban the trade in shark fins in the U.S.