Action Alert!

Don't Let Congress Undo State and Local Animal Laws

When citizens and their state legislatures decide that a practice is so inhumane that it must not occur within their state's borders, the federal government shouldn't be able to trump the will of the people. Yet that's exactly what legislation now under consideration would do.

A small provision—Section 123—tucked into the pending Farm Bill in the U.S. House of Representatives would prohibit states and localities from banning activities they deem to be contrary to public health, safety, and morals. Section 123 would undo bans on horse slaughter, intensive confinement of pigs and calves raised for veal, force-feeding of ducks and geese to make foie gras, and other important laws. It's an outrageous power grab that would undermine the democratic process and deny citizens the right to pass state or local laws on issues of humane treatment or food safety.

This could be the most urgent alert ever! If we don't get rid of Section 123, people who've worked so hard to get state and local animal protection laws passed—investing hours and hours in good faith that their involvement in the legislative process matters—will find out that their hard-won achievements are wiped out by this heavy-handed federal law.

TAKE ACTION
Please make brief, polite phone calls to your two U.S. Senators and one U.S. Representative and urge them to oppose Section 123 of the House Farm Bill. You can reach your federal legislators by calling the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, or click here to find their Capitol office phone numbers.