Amendment Provides $2 Million to Investigate and Enforce Animal Welfare Statutes
WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Vern Buchanan, co-chair of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, released the following statement after his initiative with Congressman Troy Carter (D-La.) providing $2 million to enforce animal welfare statutes passed the House as an amendment to the annual agriculture appropriations bill, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agency Appropriations Act, 2027 (H.R. 8646):
“Animal fighting is a brutal and inhumane practice that has no place in America. These illegal operations subject animals to horrific abuse and are frequently linked to other serious criminal activity, including illegal gambling, drug trafficking and organized crime. That is why I am proud to work with Congressman Troy Carter on this bipartisan amendment to strengthen enforcement of animal welfare laws to protect animals from cruelty.”
Buchanan’s amendment provides an additional $2 million for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General (USDA OIG) to strengthen enforcement of federal animal welfare laws. The funding will support investigations and enforcement actions under key statutes including the Animal Welfare Act, the Animal Fighting Venture Prohibition Act, the Horse Protection Act, the Twenty-Eight Hour Law and the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act. USDA OIG works closely with the Department of Justice and federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to combat animal cruelty, dismantle illegal animal fighting operations and hold offenders accountable.
USDA OIG investigations have demonstrated that organized animal fighting operations are frequently linked to other serious criminal activity, including drug trafficking, illegal gambling, firearms offenses and child endangerment. From 2015 through 2023, USDA OIG and its law enforcement partners helped rescue more than 2,400 dogs from suspected dogfighting operations nationwide.
“Congressmen Buchanan and Troy Carter have teamed up to step up enforcement of anti-cruelty laws to stop the scourges of dogfighting and cockfighting in our nation. Animal fighting is not just a crime of violence against animals, but it’s bound up with illegal gambling, narcotics trafficking, disease spread, and other activities that degrade the well-being of our society. I’m immensely grateful for their leadership,” said Wayne Pacelle, President, Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy.
Buchanan, who co-chairs the Animal Protection Caucus in Congress, is a leading advocate for protecting endangered species and ending animal cruelty. He has been a leading supporter of legislation to combat animal fighting, including serving as an original cosponsor of the FIGHT Act (H.R. 3946), and recently helped introduce the Animal Violence Exposes Real Threat of (AVERT) Future Violence Act (H.R. 8911) to examine the connection between animal cruelty and violence against people.
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