ANIMAL ADVOCATES CRY FOUL: CLAIM UNDEMOCRATIC LEGISLATIVE STIFLING OF ANIMAL PROTECTION BILLS

Advocates Condemn Corporate Farm Influence on Arizona Legislators 

Phoenix, Ariz. - In Defense of Animals (IDA) announced today that it is enlisting the aid of its thousands of Arizona supporters, 80,000 members and animal protection organizations nationwide to protest the killing of three bills in the Arizona legislature directly aimed to improve protection of animals in the state.

House Bill 2302, an improvement of the definitions of requirements for food, water, and shade for all Arizona animals and HB 2489, making all animal fighting illegal in Arizona were both killed this week by Representative Eddie Farnsworth of the Arizona House Judiciary Committee. Farnsworth refused to put the bills on the agenda for the final week of hearings by the Judiciary Committee and, with a final nail, refused to let the bills bypass his committee and be heard in another committee. HB 2302, introduced by Representative John Nelson at the request of Sheriff Joe Arpaio--which would have made charging those who fail to provide sufficient food or water for Arizona animals easier--had widespread support among law enforcement, prosecutors, and animal welfare organizations. HB 2489, initiated in response to egregious cases of “hog dog rodeos,” animal fights in which pigs and dogs are pitted against one another, also had widespread support.

Earlier this session, because of objections by the owners of Hickman’s Eggs, a requirement for shade for animals was dropped from HB 2302. However, the improved standards for food and water were kept intact. Speaker of the House James P. Weirs also refused to support HB 2302. In a conversation with an aide to Representative Nelson earlier this week, Dr. Pat Haight, IDA Regional Director was alerted to the possibility that Hickman’s Eggs once again blocked HB 2302.

SB 1288, introduced by Arizona Senator Harry Mitchell to prohibit the slaughter of horses in Arizona, met a similar fate. Senator Jake Flake refused to put the bill on the agenda of his Natural Resources and Rural Affairs Committee. While there are currently not any horse slaughterhouses in Arizona, the bill would have prevented them from being built and was supported by the National Horse Protection Coalition, the Arizona Horse Protective Benevolent Association, and members of the horse industry including barns across Arizona. Senator Flake assured Dr. Haight in a conversation last week that he would reconsider his opposition to the bill. However, an IDA member was told by the Senator’s office today that the bill was dead. Similar events led to killing a horse slaughter prevention act supported by a majority of the U.S. House last year and to surreptitious insertion of language into an omnibus appropriations bill that removed a more than thirty year protection for many wild horses, a symbol of our nation’s heritage. 

“We condemn the practice of one person who controls a committee in the House or Senate making decisions for all citizens by killing bills to further their own desires or special interests before bills are heard in an open forum and available for comment by all interested parties and allowed to come to the floor for a vote,” said Dr. Haight. “Arizonans are asking that HB 2302, HB 2489, and SB 1288 be allowed to continue their legislative course by being attached to other bills that have been heard in committee, a practice that occurs frequently in government. This will keep the bills alive, allow them to come to the floor for a vote, and restore the faith of voters that their elected representatives are listening to the desires of all.”

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