CONTACT:

Fleur Dawes, fleur@idausa.org, 415-879-6879

Nadia Schilling, nadia@idausa.org  

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/vK3Vfs3dMzQ

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 11, 2018) – In Defense of Animals is celebrating the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill without a cruel clause that would have erased state-level protections for animals suffering in farms, puppy mills, and in dog fighting rings.

“Anyone who cares about animals can be very relieved that Rep. King’s cruel amendment was struck out of the 2018 Farm Bill,” said Marilyn Kroplick M.D. “All animals deserve our protection whether they suffer abuse in farms, puppy mills, or dog fighting rings.”

The Protect Interstate Commerce Act was written by U.S. Rep. Steve King of Iowa with intent to abolish all state animal welfare laws that could impact interstate trade, including the recently passed Prevention of Cruelty to Farm Animals Act in California. This is the second time King has tried and failed to slip his amendment into the national Farm Bill which is updated just once every five years.

A representative for Iowa, America’s largest egg and pork producing state, King has made his bed with big ag and has no shame in revealing his passion for the cruelest farming practices:

“We have states that have prohibited gestation crates. They prohibit the importation of, into their state, meat that is produced in a fashion that they disapprove -- and that goes on with stalls for veal calves and the prohibition to feeding ducks and geese for foie gras liver... and it's getting worse,” King Stated during a hearing of his bill.

“King’s amendment was written so that it also would have had the power to strip thousands of state-level laws ranging from the mandatory labelling of chemicals known to cause cancer, to the sale of expired baby formula - ultimately capsizing the constitutional balance between state and federal government,” added Kroplick.

Hundreds of thousands of citizens urged their local representatives to oppose the King amendment, including over 15,000 In Defense of Animals supporters.

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In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization with over 250,000 supporters and a 30-year history of fighting for animals, people and the environment through education, campaigns and hands-on rescue facilities in India, Africa, and rural Mississippi.

IN DEFENSE OF ANIMALS • 3010 KERNER BLVD. • SAN RAFAEL, CA 94901 • 415-448-0048