URGENT: Legislative Alert
For his parting shot to a career marked with controversial deeds and politically incorrect advocacy, Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) has inserted language into the Senate Farm Bill that would permanently exclude the billions of birds, rats, and mice used in painful experiments from receiving even minimal protections under the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The bill, including Sen. Helms’ amendment, currently under consideration by Senate and House conferees, has sent shivers down even moderate animal protectionists’ spines.
Birds, rats, and mice make up 95 percent of the animals used in research, yet they were somehow left out of the AWA when it was signed into law in 1966. Technically, this should never have been so, as the act covers any “live or dead dog, cat, nonhuman primate, guinea pig, hamster, rabbit, or any other warm-blooded animal, which is being used, or is intended for use for research, teaching, testing, experimentation, or exhibition purposes.” The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), recognizing its limited budget and interest in such matters, long interpreted the act to exclude any protections for birds, rats, and mice. For more than 30 years, animal welfare and rights advocates have been working to end this arbitrary exclusion. Their efforts looked set to pay off, despite innumerable twists and turns, until Sen. Helms made his move.
click here to read the full report
click here to read the Washington Post article on PETA's action
UPDATE:On May 8, 2002, Congress passed the Farm Bill (H.R. 2646).
Senator Chuck Hagel was our only Nay.
click here to thank Senator Hagel
To express your disappointment (no angry letters, please -
polite letters carry more weight),
send an email to Senator Nelson
and a letter to Congressman Bereuter.
Please be sure to mention this issue specifically.
For his parting shot to a career marked with controversial deeds and politically incorrect advocacy, Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) has inserted language into the Senate Farm Bill that would permanently exclude the billions of birds, rats, and mice used in painful experiments from receiving even minimal protections under the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The bill, including Sen. Helms’ amendment, currently under consideration by Senate and House conferees, has sent shivers down even moderate animal protectionists’ spines.
Birds, rats, and mice make up 95 percent of the animals used in research, yet they were somehow left out of the AWA when it was signed into law in 1966. Technically, this should never have been so, as the act covers any “live or dead dog, cat, nonhuman primate, guinea pig, hamster, rabbit, or any other warm-blooded animal, which is being used, or is intended for use for research, teaching, testing, experimentation, or exhibition purposes.” The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), recognizing its limited budget and interest in such matters, long interpreted the act to exclude any protections for birds, rats, and mice. For more than 30 years, animal welfare and rights advocates have been working to end this arbitrary exclusion. Their efforts looked set to pay off, despite innumerable twists and turns, until Sen. Helms made his move.
click here to read the full report
click here to read the Washington Post article on PETA's action
UPDATE:On May 8, 2002, Congress passed the Farm Bill (H.R. 2646).
Senator Chuck Hagel was our only Nay.
click here to thank Senator Hagel
To express your disappointment (no angry letters, please -
polite letters carry more weight),
send an email to Senator Nelson
and a letter to Congressman Bereuter.
Please be sure to mention this issue specifically.
posted by kelly at
9:23 PM
