• Animal Fighting, HR 1532 / HR 4264 – to create felony level penalties for federal animal fighting crimes.

• Horse Slaughter, HR 857 – to ban the sale of horses and horse meat for human consumption.

• Antifreeze Safety, HR 1563 – to require inclusion of a bittering agent in antifreeze to prevent poisoning of pets, wildlife and children.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Please contact your U.S. Representative and ask him or her to join as a cosponsor of these important bills if s/he hasn’t already done so. You might mention that you use the Humane Scorecard to help assess how your legislators stand on key animal protection issues and you know these cosponsorships will be counted in 2004. To contact your U.S. Representative, call the congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121. If you need locate your U.S. Rep, visit the Fund for Animals’ website or call The HSUS at (202) 955-3668.              

CAMPAIGN SEEKS TO PUT A DAMPER ON TROPHY KILLERS:
In an effort to stamp out cruel international trophy hunting, activists in Europe have launched a campaign to "take the thrill out of the kill" for trophy hunters. They are asking the airlines that transport trophy hunters to some African countries and other appealing trophy hunting destinations to bar the transportation of "sporting" rifles.  In doing so, trophy hunting would be far less appealing to European hunters, because part of the big game hunters' culture is the pride of killing an animal with their own, personal weapon.
 
So far, two British airlines have instituted policies against transporting sporting rifles. Now activists are asking one of Britain's largest airlines, Virgin Airlines, to also adopt a similar policy. Virgin Airlines CEO Richard Branson owns a large wildlife reservation in Africa where hunting is strictly banned, so adopting a policy against sporting rifles on his airlines would be both appropriate and commensurate with his goal of ethical business practices.
 
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Ask Virgin Airlines CEO Richard Branson to uphold his ethics and ban sporting rifles on Virgin flights.

For more information, see the website for the League Against Cruel Sports.

ENFORCEMENT OF TEXAS FELONY LAW MAKING PROGRESS:
The past month has seen significant progress in Texas justice for animals. On September 2, the Dallas Morning News reported that a Dallas man convicted of felony animal cruelty in the death of his neighbor's dog received the maximum possible sentence allowable under the law: ten years in prison and a $14,000 fine.  Carey McMillan was convicted and sentenced after jurors watched a videotape of him goading his two pitbulls to tear apart and kill his neighbor's dog, Cisco. 

A few weeks earlier, in Denton County, Texas, prosecutors filed felony animal cruelty charges against a man who reportedly caused the death of Bull, a one-year-old black Labrador retriever. According to the Dallas Morning News, Richard Swift wrapped duct tape around Bull’s snout, head and neck on a 95-degree day, reportedly to stop the dog from barking. Bull later escaped his yard and collapsed from heat stroke at a neighbor’s feet. Despite efforts to save him, Bull suffered multiple seizures and swelling in his brain, and he later died at a veterinary hospital.

These developments are significant because although Texas passed its felony animal cruelty law in 1997, there have been few, if any, successful prosecutions under the law to date.  These latest cases show that the tide may be turning for animals under Texas' legal system.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
You can help ensure this upswing in prosecutions of violent animal abusers in Texas continues. Contact the Denton County District Attorney and thank him for pursuing the animal cruelty case against Richard Swift. Encourage him to maintain the felony charges against Mr. Swift and to seek significant jail time upon conviction.