Sunday 18 August 2013

Farm Bill Amendment Tramples States Rights to Protect Animals (Op-Ed)

Wayne Pacelle is the president and chief executive officer of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). This Op-Ed first appeared on the blog A Humane Nation, where it ran before appearing in LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

As members of Congress left Washington and returned to their districts for the August recess, opposition to the farm bill amendment introduced by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), began to swell. The King amendment is a sort of legislative kudzu, so invasive and dangerous it could crowd out hundreds of state and local laws setting appropriate standards for agriculture.

For the animal welfare movement, to put a fine point on its impact, King's measure could easily repeal all the state laws against shark finning, puppy mills, extreme confinement of farm animals and the slaughter and sale of meat from horses, dogs and cats.

Written by a man I believe to be one of the most radical members of Congress — and a man who has also opposed federal measures to crack down on animal fighting and horse slaughter, opposed federal animal welfare standards for laying hens and was even against a federal policy to help pets in disasters — the amendment is an attack on states' rights to impose reasonable standards on agriculture to protect animals , workers, the environment and consumers.

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