Animal protection group says voters backed its candidates, including Booker

WASHINGTON — Humane World Action Fund, a political advocacy group focused on animal protection, said Nov. 4 that many candidates it endorsed in the midterm elections won, including U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, and that voters approved or rejected several animal-related ballot measures in line with its positions.

In a post on its website, the group said Booker, a Democrat, is returning to the Senate, where it said he will keep opposing efforts by part of the pork industry to block states from passing their own animal protection laws.

The group said it evaluated candidates on issues including the use of animals in research and testing, access to veterinary care, protecting horses from slaughter for human consumption, wildlife protection and states’ rights to enact animal welfare laws, including those affecting farm animals. It said final results were still coming in and, in its assessment, control of both chambers of Congress would swing to Democrats.

The organization noted the departure of two Republican allies in Congress, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, whom it credited with work on wildlife trafficking, retiring government laboratory animals and co-chairing the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus. It said two state lawmakers it supported, La Shawn K. Ford of Illinois and Jasmine Clark of Georgia, both Democrats, are moving to the U.S. House.

Among governors, the group pointed to the reelection of Democrats Katie Hobbs of Arizona and Kathy Hochul of New York and Republican Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire. It credited Hochul with signing laws protecting horses and burros from slaughter and ending retail sales of cats, dogs and rabbits in pet stores.

On ballot measures, the group said Denver voters overwhelmingly approved Ordinance 311, which bans force-feeding birds and the sale of products from force-fed birds. It said Colorado voters were on track to defeat Amendment 83, a proposed constitutional amendment that would have established a right to hunt and made hunting the state’s preferred wildlife management method.

The group also highlighted state legislators it backed in Maryland, Colorado, Texas, Florida, Washington and Illinois, crediting them with sponsoring laws on animal research, cruelty penalties and performances by wild animals.

This report is based on information from Humane World Action Fund.

Source: Humane World Action Fund