The House’s long-awaited Farm Bill is a doggone mess. On May 30, the House Agriculture Committee approved a Farm Bill that neglected to address the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decades-long failure to fulfill its obligations under the Animal Welfare Act. This means the extreme suffering of dogs in puppy mills will continue to be ignored.
Rather than requiring USDA inspectors to remove animals found suffering at licensed facilities, the bill merely instructs inspectors to “consider” removal. But it doesn’t stop there. A provision in the bill also narrows the definition of “suffering,” which will lead to even fewer animals in distress receiving the urgent care they need.
On top of all of this, the bill allows the USDA to further shirk its enforcement responsibilities by passing off problems with licensees to local law enforcement agencies. We need a Farm Bill that protects dogs from inhumane treatment, not one that exacerbates their vulnerability. To this end, I urge Rep. Summer Lee to vote against any version of the Farm Bill that does not contain Goldie’s Act — lifesaving legislation that would address and correct the USDA’s enforcement failures. I encourage my fellow Pennsylvanians to call on their federal lawmakers to do the same.
Micah Wintner
Munhall