Advocacy Center

Guest blog by ASPCA President & CEO Matt Bershadker

Chicken Scratch is an ASPCA Blog feature that highlights interesting news about farm animals and farm animal welfare.

In January 2014, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed milestone legislation to allow local governments to regulate pet dealers for the first time in almost 15 years.

Guest blog by Jessica Johnson, Senior Manager of Grassroots Advocacy for ASPCA Government Relations.

Are you interested in learning more about key animal-protection issues? Want to find out how you can do more to help the animals in your area? If so, please join me and my fellow ASPCA experts for our free December Webinar Series, where we will discuss several important areas of animal legislation, what has been accomplished, and what work still needs to be done!
 

1. Don’t Get Tricked by Labels

With so many critical issues facing our country, making sure your voice is heard at the ballot box tomorrow is more important than ever. On November 4, Americans will be electing all 435 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 36 U.S. Senators, as well as many governors, state senators and representatives, and local elected officials. These individuals will be making policy that will have tremendous impact—for better or worse—on the lives of our nation’s animals for the next two to six years.

National Pit Bull Awareness Day, which takes place on October 25, was created to bring positive attention to the Pit Bull Terrier. By combating myths about the breed, we have the power to restore its good reputation and save thousands of lives. Here’s how you can help:

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the agency responsible for protection of wild horses and burros as cultural icons, is considering a plan to ship many of these burros to Guatemala to become working animals. Once off of U.S. soil, the fate of these animals becomes largely unknown. What’s more, if carried out, this plan establishes a dangerous precedent for other federally protected equines.

Guest blog by Deborah Press, ASPCA Senior Manager of Regulatory Affairs

It’s hard to believe we’re only a month out from Election Day! For midterm elections like these, where there are no presidential candidates keeping our attention focused on the race for the White House, it can be easy to forget there are still a lot of important elections happening this November. But that makes it even more important that your voice is heard!