Farm Bill Victories.

source: www.hsus.org

Puppy Imports – The Farm Bill includes provisions — championed by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) with key support by Reps. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.), and Terry Everett (R-Ala.) — to curb the import of puppies for commercial sale from foreign puppy mills. A growing number of breeders in Eastern European countries, Mexico, China, and other foreign countries see the U.S. as a potential market, even though there is a strong domestic dog and cat breeding industry here and there are millions of pets available from U.S. breeders and animal shelters.

The provisions require that any dog imported into the U.S. for commercial sale be at least 6-months old, to ensure that young, unweaned and unvaccinated puppies are not forced to suffer from harsh, long-distance transport. They also ensure that any dog entering the U.S. be deemed healthy prior to entry. Exceptions are provided so as not to interfere with shelter and rescue work, veterinary treatment, or research purposes. Thanks to Sen. Durbin's extraordinary and unflagging leadership, similar language was first incorporated into the Senate Farm Bill in December.

Animal Fighting – The Farm Bill contains provisions — sought by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Reps. Betty Sutton (D-Ohio), Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.), and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) — to strengthen federal animal fighting law by making it a crime to knowingly possess or train animals for fighting, enhancing the penalty for animal fighting offenses from a potential three-year prison sentence to a maximum five-year prison sentence, and making any animal fighting affecting interstate or foreign commerce a federal crime.

The Senate Farm Bill contained many similar provisions in a dogfighting amendment successfully offered by Sen. Kerry, and the conference report language is even stronger, as it also applies to cockfighting.