Topics in the News: Animal Rights
Tom Steyer on Environment
: Jul 2, 2019
Regulate confinement of farm animals more humanely
Report on Steyer's stance and spending on ballot initiatives: - California Proposition 2, Standards for Confining Farm Animals (2008)
- Steyer Supported; Steyer spent $25,000; outcome: Approved
- Proposition 2 created a new
state statute that prohibits the confinement of farm animals in a manner that does not allow them to turn around freely, lie down, stand up, and fully extend their limbs. The law was set to go into full effect on January 1, 2015.
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Source: Ballotpedia.org on California ballot measure voting records
Marianne Williamson on Environment
: Apr 14, 2019
Deal with factory farming by having environmentalists at EPA
We would have, if I were president of the United States, a world-class environmentalist at the head of the EPA. No more chemical company executives heading the EPA. No more oil company heading the EPA.
We need to deal with the animal factory farming. Enough with these incremental changes here and these incremental changes there.
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Source: CNN Town Hall 2020 Democratic primary
Donald Trump on Immigration
: Feb 23, 2018
Opposes Catch-&-Release laws; throw criminal aliens in jail
With our foreign partners we have helped charge or arrest more than 4,000 members of the savage gang, MS-13. They don't like guns. You know why? They're not painful enough. These are animals. They cut people. They cut them. They cut them up in little
pieces, and they want them to suffer. And we take them into our country. Because our immigration laws are so bad, and when we catch them, it is called "catch and release." We have to, by law, catch them and then release them. Catch and release.
And I can't get the Democrats and nobody has been able to for years to approve common-sense measures that when we catch these animal killers, we can lock them up, and throw away the keys. In 2017, our brave ICE officers arrested more than
100,000 criminal aliens who have committed tens of thousands of crimes. And, believe me, these are great people. They cannot--the laws are just against us. They're against safety. They don't make sense.
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Source: Speech at the 2018 CPAC Convention
Cory Booker on Environment
: Dec 31, 2016
Rated 100% on all animal welfare ratings
Animals and Wildlife organizational ratings:- 2015-2016 Animal Welfare Institute - Positions 100%
- 2015 Food Policy Action - Positions 100%
- 2015 Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund - Positions 100%
- 2015 Humane Society Legislative Fund -
Positions 100%
- 2014 American Veterinary Medical Association - Positions on Professional Advocacy 100%
- 2013-2014 Animal Welfare Institute - Positions 100%
- 2013-2014 Food Policy Action - Positions 100%
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Source: Vote-Smart 2013-2016 Animals and Wildlife group ratings
Cory Booker on Environment
: Feb 16, 2016
Vegetarian since 1992; vegan since 2014
I had been a vegetarian since 1992--a lifestyle choice that had started as an experiment. I realized that there was a lot about food I could never fully pin down. After poring over data on health, the environment, and how industrial agriculture treated
animals, I thought I should try to go without meat. Did I need it? Was I the master of my desires, or had my desires mastered me? I decided to try being a vegetarian.Within a couple of months I was astounded by the results. Active as I was, when
I went vegetarian my body felt supercharged. I felt energy like I hadn't ever had before. My sleep improved, my recovery after workouts improved, and I felt lighter, stronger and more capable. I never looked back. 22 years later, after more reading,
study and self-examination, I decided to try another experiment for the same reasons: from the day after Election Day 2014 until the end of that year, I would try being a vegan. It, too, would become an experiment that would stick.
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Source: United, by Senator Cory Booker, p.124-5
Donald Trump on Environment
: Sep 19, 2015
My sons love trophy hunting, but I'm not a believer
Donald Trump has never served in public office so it is very difficult to find any information on Trump's views on animal rights. However, both of Donald Trump's sons are known trophy hunters and recently defended the killing of beloved Cecil the lion.
The brothers themselves traveled to Zimbabwe to shoot, "a variety of animals, including an elephant, a crocodile, a kudu, a civet cat and water buck."
After his sons went under fire for their big game hunts, Donald Trump reportedly told TMZ, "My sons love hunting.
They're hunters and they've become good at it. I am not a believer in hunting and I'm surprised they like it."
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Source: TreeHouseAnimals.org on 2016 presidential hopefuls
Bernie Sanders on Environment
: Sep 5, 2015
Advocate of animal welfare and humane treatment
Bernie Sanders is an advocate of animal welfare and ensuring animals' humane treatment. He has co-sponsored several pieces of legislation to protect the interests of animals and has recently received a 100 percent rating from the Humane Society
Legislative Fund (HSLF): - Breeding and Captivity Practices: No animal should be subjected to inhumane commercial breeding habits nor should they be contained within neglected and inadequate shelters.
- Livestock Issues:
All animals that are raised for food should be treated humanely with minimum standards of care.
- Cruelty Toward Animals: Non-human animals must be protected from all forms of cruelty, suffering and abuse, whether in captivity or in the wild.
-
Protecting Wildlife: All wild animals must be protected from unnecessary danger to their livelihood and habitats, including threats to endangered species.
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Source: 2016 grassroots campaign website FeelTheBern.org, "Issues"
Donald Trump on Civil Rights
: Aug 6, 2015
Political correctness is country's problem, not my problem
Q: You don't use a politician's filter. However, that is not without its downsides, in particular, when it comes to women. You've called women you don't like "fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals."TRUMP: Only Rosie O'Donnell!
Q: You once
told a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice it would be a pretty picture to see her on her knees. Does that sound to you like the temperament of a man we should elect as president?
TRUMP: I think the big problem this country has is being politically
correct. I don't have time for total political correctness. And to be honest with you, this country doesn't have time either. This country is in big trouble. We don't win anymore. We lose to China. We lose to Mexico both in trade and at the border.
We lose to everybody. And frankly, what I say, and oftentimes it's fun, it's kidding. We have a good time. What I say is what I say. But you know, we need strength, we need energy, we need quickness and we need brain in this country to turn it around.
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Source: Fox News/Facebook Top Ten First Tier debate transcript
Donald Trump on Environment
: Mar 6, 2015
Won't go to circuses that cut elephants due to animal rights
Trump tweet of 3/5/15: "Ringling Brothers is phasing out their elephants. I, for one, will never go again. They probably used the animal rights stuff to reduce costs."Here is our investigation into what those poor
elephants were experiencing:
"The Cruelest Show on Earth": Bullhooks. Whippings. Electric shocks. Three-day train rides without breaks. Our yearlong investigation rips the big top off how Ringling Bros. treats its elephants.
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Source: Mother Jones Fact-Checking of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Bernie Sanders on Environment
: Oct 9, 2012
Very large farms raise questions about animal cruelty
And the cows [on small farms]? Some are contended. I have been on many dairy farms in Vermont where the cows were cared for almost as if they were part of the farmer's family. VT's Bovine Practitioner of the Year says; "The majority of farmers I work
with are farmers because they love their animals. They treat them well." I think those words ring true for the many Vermont famers I have met. They are wonderful people. But very large farms, and veal operations, can raise questions about animal cruelty.
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Source: Sanders Intro to `Milk Money`, by Kirk Kardashian, p. x
Bernie Sanders on Immigration
: Oct 9, 2012
Immigrant labor should be treated as valuable, but are not
Negative aspects of 21st century farming: water and air pollution, the hazards of industrial agriculture (farms in California or Idaho or New Mexico can exceed 10,00 cows), and milk that is perhaps not as healthful as that obtained from pasture-grazed
animals. The labor situation on dairy farms, which are more and more dependent on immigrant labor from Mexico and Central America. Some of these immigrants are treated as the valuable laborers they are; others, unfortunately and tragically, are not.
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Source: Sanders Intro to `Milk Money`, by Kirk Kardashian, p. ix-x
Howard Schultz on Environment
: Mar 27, 2012
Human deforestation contributes more carbon than all cars
In 2008, I [held meetings to] firm up our flatlining relationships with Conservation International. Conservation International's people explained their most pressing concern: climate change. They pointed to endangered areas that are home to
irreplaceable plant and animal life. These ecosystems are at risk for destruction by human deforestation, also burning and clearing of forest's contributes 20% of the world's carbon emissions--twice as much as ALL the world's vehicles combined. These
hotspots are in areas where farmers grow some of Starbucks' most precious coffees. Starbucks would re-up its partnership with Conservation International with a $7.5 million commitment over three years. We would measure the impact of our CAFE.
Practices to ensure that we were making a positive difference for the people and places we intended. We would link small farmers to global carbon markets. And we would stand shoulder to shoulder with Conservation International.
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Source: Onward, by Howard Schultz, p.119-20
Mike Gravel on Gun Control
: May 2, 2008
Doesn’t hunt, but shot moose injured by Alaskan trains
[My early job in Alaska was] on the snow fleet--a train engine with a plow--to clear the snow that could be three or four feet high on the tracks.Moose have spindly legs. Rather than cutting themselves in the snow, they’d jump onto the tracks where th
snow had been plowed. Trains would accidentally run over moose all the time. Usually, just the legs got severed. The poor animal would be lying there. So the engineer would call a native hospital and they’d come with a handcar or an automobile to pick up
the moose and use it for food at the hospital.
After seeing this once I told the engineer that the next time it happens, I’d jump off and shoot the moose, rather than just let it lie there suffering. I don’t hunt or fish, which made
Alaskans suspicious of me, but I couldn’t watch the moose writhing in the snow, moaning. So I climbed down from the caboose into the snow. I must have shot three or four moose that way. Then we’d call the hospital to tell them to pick up their meat.
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Source: A Political Odyssey, by Mike Gravel, p.134
Barack Obama on Environment
: Feb 2, 2008
Regulate animal feeding operations for pollution
AT A GLANCE- Protecting the Rural Environment: Obama will work for tougher regulations on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to prevent air & water pollution.
THE PROBLEM- CAFOs Pollute the
Environment: Manure spills kill millions of fish and jeopardize public health.
OBAMA’S PLAN- Regulate CAFOs:Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency will strictly regulate pollution from large CAFOs, with fines for those that
violate tough standards. Obama also supports meaningful local control.
- Partner with Landowners to Conserve Private Lands:Obama will increase incentives for farmers and private landowners to conduct sustainable agriculture and protect wetlands,
grasslands, and forests.
- Encourage Organic and Local Agriculture:Obama will help organic farmers afford to certify their crops and reform crop insurance to not penalize organic farmers. He also will promote regional food systems.
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Source: Campaign booklet, “Blueprint for Change”, p. 31-34
Barack Obama on Welfare & Poverty
: Aug 14, 2007
Saw dire poverty as a child in Indonesia
Indonesia was an exotic experience for Barack, then six years old. Barack encountered new food, wild animals and an entirely foreign culture. He played in rice paddies and rode water buffalo.For the first time, he also bore witness to the
unpleasantness of dire poverty. Beggars would come to their door, and even his mother, who had a woman’s “soft heart,” according to Lolo Soetoro, Obama’s mother’s 2nd husband] eventually learned to “calibrate the level of misery” before handing out money
Obama wrote that, over time, he also developed his own calculations, a result of lectures from Lolo advising him not to give all his money away.
Said Obama in a 2004 radio interview: “I think
[Indonesia] made me more mindful of not only my blessings as a US citizen, but also the ways that fate can determine the lives of young children, so that one ends up being fabulously wealthy and another ends up being extremely poor.”
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Source: From Promise to Power, by David Mendell, p. 32-33
Barack Obama on Environment
: Jan 31, 2007
Scored 60% on Humane Society Scorecard on animal protection
The Humane Society 109th Congress Scorecard on animal protection issues scored Obama 60 out of 100, based on:- Obama did not co-sponsor the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S.1915): To bar slaughtering horses for human consumption. Bill had
34 co-sponsors.
- Obama voted for the Horse Slaughter Amendment (9/20/2005): to stop export of horses for slaughter.
- Obama co-sponsored the Animal Fighting Prohibition Act (S.382): To criminalize dogfighting & cockfighting. The bill had
51 cosponsors & passed unanimously on 4/28/2005.
- Obama did not co-sponsor the Downed Animal Protection Act (S.1779): to ban “downed” (unable to walk to slaughter) cattle, pigs & sheep in human food. Bill had 26 cosponsors.
- Obama signed the Funding
Letter to the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee: seeking funds for the Animal Welfare Act, Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, & federal animal fighting law. The letter was cosigned by 44 senators & sent on 5/25/2006.
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Source: Humane Society 109th Congress Scorecard, www.fund.org
Hillary Clinton on Environment
: Jan 31, 2007
Scored 100% on Humane Society Scorecard on animal protection
The Humane Society 109th Congress Scorecard on animal protection scored Clinton 100+ out of 100, based on:- Clinton co-sponsored the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S.1915): To bar slaughtering horses for human consumption. Bill had 34 co-sponsors.
- Clinton voted for the Horse Slaughter Amendment (9/20/2005): to stop export of horses for slaughter.
- Clinton co-sponsored the Animal Fighting Prohibition Act (S.382): To criminalize dogfighting & cockfighting. The bill had 51 cosponsors & passed
unanimously on 4/28/2005.
- Clinton co-sponsored the Downed Animal Protection Act (S.1779): to ban “downed” (unable to walk to slaughter) cattle, pigs & sheep in human food. Bill had 26 cosponsors.
- Clinton signed the Funding Letter to the Agriculture
Appropriations Subcommittee: seeking funds for the Animal Welfare Act, Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, & federal animal fighting law. The letter was cosigned by 44 senators & sent on 5/25/2006.
- Clinton took leadership on animal protection.
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Source: Humane Society 109th Congress Scorecard, www.fund.org
Joe Biden on Environment
: Jan 31, 2007
Scored 80% on Humane Society Scorecard on animal protection
The Humane Society 109th Congress Scorecard on animal protection issues scored Biden 80 out of 100, based on:- Biden co-sponsored the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S.1915): To bar slaughtering horses for human consumption. Bill had
34 co-sponsors.
- Biden voted for the Horse Slaughter Amendment (9/20/2005): to stop export of horses for slaughter.
- Biden co-sponsored the Animal Fighting Prohibition Act (S.382): To criminalize dogfighting & cockfighting.
The bill had 51 cosponsors & passed unanimously on 4/28/2005.
- Biden did not co-sponsor the Downed Animal Protection Act (S.1779): to ban “downed” (unable to walk to slaughter) cattle, pigs & sheep in human food. Bill had 26 cosponsors.
-
Biden signed the Funding Letter to the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee: seeking funds for the Animal Welfare Act, Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, & federal animal fighting law. The letter was cosigned by 44 senators & sent on 5/25/2006.
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Source: Humane Society 109th Congress Scorecard, www.fund.org
Page last updated: Aug 01, 2019