Lawmakers consider provision banning killing of dogs, cats for food

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House lawmakers on Wednesday will consider an amendment to the farm bill that would bar individuals from killing dogs or cats for food, according to Bloomberg News.

The new provision would make the practice illegal for all Americans, and institute penalties for “knowingly slaughtering a dog or cat for human consumption,” as well as participating in any commercial activity related to the slaughter of animals considered household pets.

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New York, California and New Jersey have already banned the practice, Bloomberg reported.

Lawmakers on the House Agriculture Committee are considering the amendment, introduced by Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), as part of the yearly bill to reauthorize all Department of Agriculture programs, according to the report. Violators would face prison time of up to a year as well as fines.

A piece of legislation introduced by Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings (D) contains similar language and has 239 co-sponsors as of late March.

Democrats, however, are warning that the 2018 farm bill is doomed to fail in a House vote unless Republicans remove changes to meal programs contained in the bill. Top Democratic lawmakers say the bill’s changes will throw millions of Americans off the food stamps program.

“From the very beginning I’ve said I will support a farm bill that doesn’t increase hunger in America. That was the bar I set, the line in the sand that I drew,” committee ranking member Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said in an interview with C-SPAN’s “Newsmakers” program.
 
“Well, you know, this bill will increase hunger. And so unless there’s radical changes I’m not sure that we can reconcile the bills.”
Tags Agriculture Alcee Hastings CATS dogs farm bill House Jeff Denham Pets

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