Measures to protect pets from being sold for experimentation, and also from the horrors of dogfighting, are being considered right now for inclusion in the final Farm Bill. A small committee will decide the fate of these provisions, and you live in a district that has more influence than others in the country. Please take action right away to protect pets.

Both the House and Senate Farm Bills include provisions to stop the abuses of Class B Dealers, who acquire dogs and cats through methods such as pet theft and fraudulent response to “free to good home” ads. The Senate Bill also includes a provision to strengthen the federal law to combat the barbaric activity of dogfighting. These provisions are in jeopardy and we need your help right away to ensure that they are retained in the final Farm Bill.

You should call your senators and representatives (calls have a greater impact). You can reach your elected officials by calling the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, or click here to look up your legislators and office phone numbers.

Those of us in Indiana have even more of an impact because Senator Lugar is the chair of the agriculture committee, the committee that determines the fate of the companion animal language in the bill. Calls are quick and can have a big effect on protecting animals. Here is a sample call from HSUS:

“Hello, my name is [your name] and I am a constituent from [your town]. I want to urge [legislator's name] to make sure that the final Farm Bill includes the Senate-and House-approved language that will put an end to the sale of random source dogs and cats by Class B Dealers for experimentation, and the Senate-passed language to crack down on dogfighting. These issues are very important to me. Thank you.”