Animals have no voice so they look to us to protect them. In President Obama's proposed budget there is some good news for animals.
The president's budget recommends that Congress block the use of federal funding for inspections of horse slaughter plants in the United States. The recent health scares in Europe, where horse meat was detected in the food supply, make it even more urgent for our country to ban horse slaughter plants. American horses are not raised as food, and they are regularly given medications that can be dangerous if consumed by humans. If there are no federal inspectors for these cruel slaughter houses, they cannot reopen. These plants have not operated in the U.S. since 2007 and we need to make sure it stays that way not only to protect horses, but to prevent a health crisis from the sale of potentially tainted horse meat.
Another animal whose voice would be heard in the proposed budget is the chimpanzee. Government-owned chimpanzees who were once used for research are now languishing in cages in laboratories that receive funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The new budget would give the NIH the authority to continue providing funding to Chimp Haven, the national sanctuary that cares for these forgotten animals no longer needed for research, and for care and maintenance of retired chimpanzees. Thirteen years ago, the Chimpanzee Health Improvement Maintenance and Protection (CHIMP) Act created a national sanctuary system, but Congress placed a cap on the amount of money NIH can spend on sanctuary care. That limit is about to be reached. However, it is less expensive to care for the chimps in a sanctuary than in barren labs. Taxpayer dollars will be saved by moving all the chimps from laboratories into a sanctuary.
Finally, the president advocates increasing funding for the enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act and the Horse Protection Act. This would have a significant impact on puppy mills because the funding would support a proposed rule that would require puppy mill operators who sell kittens and puppies online, by mail or phone to be licensed and inspected just like their counterparts who sell dogs to pet stores. Due to a loophole in the regulations, which were written pre-Internet, these horrific puppy mills have not been regulated. When thousands of dogs and cats are crowded into shelters waiting for a home, puppy mills need to be closely regulated and those that are not in compliance with the law must be shut down. It is great to see the administration taking the first steps to crack down on puppy mills.
The Horse Protection Act bans such horrific practices as the torture of Tennessee walking horses through a method called "soring" that results in the unnatural high gait valued in competition. More funding is needed so that federal inspectors can crack down on the illegal acts that still continue.
The Humane Society of the United States knows that strong legislation can go a long way toward protecting animals from abuse. The organization has labored tirelessly to stop the abuse of animals whether it is the torture of Tennessee walking horses, the lab chimps, puppy mills or the slaughter of horses. Their employees have been on the front lines helping give these animals a better life.
The American people are behind these campaigns. About 62 percent of all Americans have pets. We love our animals. Our taxes should go to protecting them. So we applaud the president's proposed budget and hope that Congress will allocate funding for these programs that guarantee animals will have a voice and will be protected.