AR-News: Las Vegan Sun Runs Pacelle's Column on Senator Ensign

[Political Animal]

March 30, 2004 

Guest columnist Wayne Pacelle: Ensign merits praise
for animal protection
Wayne Pacelle is a senior vice president of The Humane
Society of the United States. The following commentary
is adapted from an opinion piece by Pacelle that
originally appeared on the organization's website,
www.hsus.org. 

•••

Recently, The Humane Society of the United States
(HSUS) released its annual Humane Scorecard --
providing an accounting of Congress' work on animal
protection since January 2003. 

Some members of Congress have little sympathy for
animals, and their records reflect their attitudes.
One of the most hostile legislators is Louisiana's
Chris John, a four-term member of the U.S. House of
Representatives. At almost every opportunity, John
voted against animal protection legislation --
opposing bills to protect downed livestock and
Yellowstone's bison and even voting against bills to
combat bear baiting and cockfighting. 

A couple of years earlier, John established himself as
the go-to guy in Congress for the cockfighting
community. When anti-cockfighting legislation came up
before the House Agriculture Committee, John did not
hedge: "I strongly support the cockfighting industry
in Louisiana." He described cockfighting, in an
interview with the Baton Rouge Advocate, as a
"cultural, family-type" activity and "an industry that
is very important to America." 

While there is arguably no member of the House or
Senate more hostile to animal protection than John,
there is another John who takes a different approach
on public policies relating to animals -- John Ensign,
U.S. senator from Nevada. 

Ensign translated his childhood love of animals into a
career in the service of animals. He went to Colorado
State University, obtained a degree in veterinary
medicine, and opened a small animal clinic in Las
Vegas. 

The HSUS has named Ensign as one of Congress' top
animal advocates, largely because of his leadership in
introducing and fighting for legislation to protect
animals. During this 108th Congress, Ensign is
co-author of three animal protection bills: S. 269, a
measure to ban the interstate transport of big cats
for the pet trade; S. 736, a bill to make it a felony
to move fighting dogs or fighting birds in interstate
or foreign commerce; and a third measure, soon to be
introduced, to ban the interstate transport of horses
for slaughter for human consumption. 

On the exotic cats bill, Ensign teamed up with Sen.
Jim Jeffords of Vermont to shepherd the legislation to
passage. The bill gained momentum as big cat incidents
captured headlines; only a day after Roy Horn, of
Siegfried and Roy, was severely injured by one of his
performing tigers, Antoine Yates was injured by the
400-pound pet tiger he had sequestered in the kitchen
of his Harlem apartment. 

It was one thing for an experienced handler like Roy
Horn to keep a big cat, but it was an entirely
different matter to have novices like Yates keeping
dangerous big cats as pets. Clearly, the big-cat craze
had gotten out of hand, and the bill by Ensign was the
right antidote to the burgeoning trade. 

Ensign had expressed an even greater disdain for the
barbaric and inhumane practices of dogfighting and
cockfighting, and federal legislation he introduced
sought to upgrade penalties for interstate transport
of fighting animals. Ensign has methodically built
support for S. 736, which now has 52 cosponsors in the
Senate, and he worked to pass his bill as an amendment
to an unrelated bill dealing with forests and fires.
Unfortunately, the House worked to jettison the
provision in a conference committee, but Ensign has
vowed to pass the legislation in 2004. 

Most recently, Ensign has pledged to introduce
legislation to protect horses. Every year, tens of
thousands of horses are transported long distances to
U.S. slaughterhouses in Texas, where they are killed,
packed, and shipped to France, Belgium, Italy, and
Japan for human food. 

With the approval or demise of any animal protection
measure, there are key legislative actors. Some, like
Ensign, are leaders on animal protection, and fight
hard for strict laws to curb abuse and exploitation. 

Others, like Nevada's senior senator, Harry Reid, are
stand-outs for their consistent and reliable support
for animal protection. And some others are indifferent
or even inclined to align themselves with groups that
profit from animal cruelty. 





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