Michael Markarian: Animals & Politics



Humane Society Legislative Fund Endorses Obama-Biden

Posted: 22 Sep 2008 12:54 PM CDT

One of the guiding principles of the Humane Society Legislative Fund
is that we evaluate candidates based on a single criterion: where they
stand on animal protection policies. We don't make decisions based on
party affiliation, or any other social issue, or even how many pets
they have . We care about their views and actions on the major policy
debates relating to animal welfare.

It stirs controversy to get involved in candidate elections. But we
believe that candidates for office and current lawmakers must be held
accountable, or they will see the animal protection movement as a
largely irrelevant political constituency. In order to have good laws,
we need good lawmakers, and involvement in elections is an essential
strategy for any serious social movement, including our cause.

While we've endorsed hundreds of congressional candidates for
election, both Democrats and Republicans, we've never before endorsed
a presidential candidate. We have members on the left, in the center,
and on the right, and we knew it could be controversial to choose
either party's candidate for the top office in the nation. But in an
era of sweeping presidential power, we must weigh in on this most
important political race in the country. Standing on the sidelines is
no longer an option for us.

I'm proud to announce today that the HSLF board of directors—which is
comprised of both Democrats and Republicans—has voted unanimously to
endorse Barack Obama for President. The Obama-Biden ticket is the
better choice on animal protection, and we urge all voters who care
about the humane treatment of animals, no matter what their party
affiliation, to vote for them.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has been a solid supporter of animal
protection at both the state and federal levels. As an Illinois state
senator, he backed at least a dozen animal protection laws, including
those to strengthen the penalties for animal cruelty, to help animal
shelters, to promote spaying and neutering, and to ban the slaughter
of horses for human consumption.  In the U.S. Senate, he has
consistently co-sponsored multiple bills to combat animal fighting and
horse slaughter, and has supported efforts to increase funding for
adequate enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, Humane Methods of
Slaughter Act, and federal laws to combat animal fighting and puppy
mills.

In his response to the HSLF questionnaire, he pledged support for
nearly every animal protection bill currently pending in Congress, and
said he will work with executive agencies such as the U.S. Department
of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior to make their
policies more humane. He wrote of the important role animals play in
our lives, as companions in our homes, as wildlife in their own
environments, and as service animals working with law enforcement and
assisting persons with disabilities. He also commented on the broader
links between animal cruelty and violence in society.

Obama has even on occasion highlighted animal protection issues on the
campaign trail, and has spoken publicly about his support for animal
protection. In reaction to the investigation showing the abuse of sick
and crippled cows which earlier this year led to the largest meat
recall in U.S. history, he issued a statement saying "that the
mistreatment of downed cows is unacceptable and poses a serious threat
to public health." He is featured in Jana Kohl's book about=2 0puppy
mills, A Rare Breed of Love, with a photo of Obama holding Baby (shown
above), the three-legged poodle rescued from an abusive puppy mill
operation, and his political mentor, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), is the
author of the latest federal bill to crack down on puppy mills.

Importantly, Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) has been a
stalwart friend of animal welfare advocates in the Senate, and has
received high marks year after year on the Humane Scorecard. Biden has
not only supp orted animal protection legislation during his career,
but has also led the fight on important issues. He was the co-author
with Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) in the 108th Congress on
legislation to ban the netting of dolphins by commercial tuna
fishermen. He was the lead author of a bill in the 107th Congress to
prohibit trophy hunting of captive exotic mammals in fenced
enclosures, and he successfully passed the bill through the Senate
Judiciary Committee.

On the Republican ticket, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has also
supported some animal protection bills in Congress, but has been
inattentive or opposed to others. He has voted for and co-sponsored
legislation to stop horse slaughter, and voted to eliminate a $2
million subsidy for the luxury fur coat industry. But he has largely
been absent on other issues, and has failed to co-sponsor a large
number of priority bills or sign onto animal protection letters that
have had broad support in the Senate.

The McCain campaign20did not fill out the HSLF presidential
questionnaire, and has also not issued any public statements on animal
welfare issues. He was silent during the downed animal scandal and
beef recall, which play ed out during a high-point in the primary
fight. Yet he did speak at the NRA convention earlier this year, and
is the keynote speaker this weekend in Columbus, Ohio, at the U.S.
Sportsmen's Alliance rally—an extremist organization that defends the
trophy hunting of threatened polar bears and captive shooting of tame
animals inside fenced pens.

While McCain's positions on animal protection have been lukewarm, his
choice of running mate cemented our decision to oppose his ticket.
Gov. Sarah Palin's (R-Alaska) retrograde policies on animal welfare
and conservation have led to an all-out war on Alaska's wolves and
other creatures. Her record is so extreme that she has perhaps done
more harm to animals than any other current governor in the United
States.

Palin engineered a campaign of shooting pr edators from airplanes and
helicopters, in order to artificially boost the populations of moose
and caribou for trophy hunters. She offered a $150 bounty for the left
foreleg of each dead wolf as an economic incentive for pilots and
aerial gunners to kill more of the animals, even though Alaska voters
had twice approved a ban on the practice. This year, the issue was up
again for a vote of the people, and Palin led the fight against it—in
fact, she helped to spend $400,000 of public funds to defeat the
initiative.

What's more, when the Bush Administration announced its decision to
list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act,
Palin filed a lawsuit to reverse that decision. She said it's the
"wrong move" to protect polar bears, even though their habitat is
shrinking and ice floes are vanishing due to global warming.

The choice for animals is especially clear now that Palin is in the
mix. If Palin is put in a position to succeed McCain, it could mean
rolling back decades of progress on animal issues.

Voters who care about protecting wildlife from inhumane and u
nsporting abuses, enforcing the laws that combat large-scale cruelties
like dogfighting and puppy mills, providing humane treatment of
animals in agriculture, and addressing other challenges that face
animals in our nation, must become active over the next six weeks to
elect a president and vice president who share our values. Please
spread the word, and tell friends and family members that an honest
assessment of the records of the two presidential tickets leads to the
inescapable conclusion that Obama-Biden is the choice for
humane-minded voters.

Paid for by Humane Society Legislative Fund and not authorized by any
candidate or candidate's committee.