Victory for Animals: Dangerous King Amendment Omitted from Farm Bill

After months of deliberation, it looks like the 2018 Farm Bill will finally receive a vote in Congress and arrive on the President’s desk by the end of the week. The bigger news, however, is that the King Amendment is dead. The final version of the Farm Bill will not include that dangerous provision, which would have rolled back state laws that protect animals. Compassion Over Killing and many other animal protection organizations spent months fighting to keep the King Amendment out of the Farm Bill; your dedication and many calls to your representatives in D.C. have made it happen.

The King Amendment, introduced by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), was one of the largest threats against animals in the United States. The Amendment would have threatened important state laws that protect animals from cruel extreme confinement, ban the sale of dog meat, shark fins, and horse meat, and restrict puppy mills, as well as many other vital protections. Thanks to your help, the King Amendment has been removed from the farm bill entirely.

Not only that, the Farm Bill now adds three new vital protections for animals:

• The Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act extends domestic violence protections to companion animals and authorizes grant money to help domestic violence shelters accommodate pets.
• The Dog and Cat Meat Prohibition Act keeps the trade of dog and cat meat out of the U.S.
• The Parity in Animal Cruelty Enforcement (PACE) Act clarifies prohibitions on cruel activities such as dogfighting and cockfighting.

Things are looking up for animals as dangerous proposals such as the King Amendment are shut down. In November’s elections, another huge stride was made for animal protection when California’s Proposition 12 passed by a 60% vote. The new law will ban cages for egg-laying hens, gestation crates for pregnant pigs, and veal crates for calves. It also will ban the sale of goods produced from animals kept in these cages, which should encourage reforms by any farmers who hope to gain access to California’s market.

In November, Floridians achieved another victory for animals by voting to ban Greyhound racing with nearly 70 percent of the vote. The cruel sport will soon be nearly eliminated in the United States.

Compassion Over Killing’s innovative legal team continues to fight for justice for all. It is your support that makes our groundbreaking work possible, helping us prompt changes for animals in policy and legislation, in the courts, and in the court of public opinion.

Double your impact: Through the end of the year, all donations will be MATCHED! To continue supporting COK’s legal advocacy work, please donate here and receive a free holiday gift.