Government and Legal Affairs Division
In our nation’s capital, there are lobbyists for every industry imaginable—agriculture, energy, tobacco, defense—but what about the animals? Who lobbies for them? In 1951, it was illegal for non-profit tax-exempt organizations to engage in such activities. “We couldn’t do any substantial amount of lobbying and keep our tax-exempt status,” explained Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) founder Christine Stevens, who is referred to as the "Mother of the Animal Protection Movement." Her solution? To form an organization that didn’t require a tax-exempt status, one that would inform Senators, Representatives and the public about animal issues and work to pass laws to protect them. The Society for Animal Protective Legislation (SAPL) became the first organization founded in the United States specifically to lobby on behalf of animals.
The year was 1955 and SAPL was the first of its kind. If legislators wanted to know more about issues pertaining to humane slaughter, leghold traps or endangered species, they simply contacted SAPL. Because of changes in tax laws, in 2003, SAPL merged with the Animal Welfare Institute bringing together two of the nations oldest and leading animal protection organizations.
For over 50 years AWI and SAPL have worked for the successful adoption of over 15 federal laws, including the Animal Welfare Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Humane Slaughter Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. AWI continues to defend existing laws, oppose bills that threaten animals and work for new protective measures, following through after they are enacted to ensure sound regulation and sufficient funds for enforcement. Current efforts include pushing for the passage of bills to ban horse slaughter, end the sale of random source dogs and cats by dealers and prohibit the use of the steel-jaw leghold trap.
Additionally, to highlight Members of Congress’ stances on animal welfare legislation, AWI created a website tracking and ranking system called the Compassion Index (CI). Available online at Compassion Index, the frequently updated electronic tally system rates legislators based on their involvement or lack thereof on certain animal welfare measures.
Read more about this topic: Animal Welfare Institute
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