New Trends in Keeping Animals Safe
Join NYC Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal and State Representatives Dan Zwonitzer (Wyoming) and Dick Anderson (North Dakota) and Ron Highland (Kansas) as they discuss legislation they have sponsored on behalf of animals.
These prominent politicians are leading the way in ground-breaking legislation to protect animals.
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Registration required. A Zoom link will be forwarded to registered participants prior to the event.
Learn:
Why they are advocating for animals?
What types of laws they are sponsoring?
Why it is difficult to get these laws passed?
How these laws affect our lives?
Why it is important for all of us to protect animals?
Laws have not kept pace with changes in society’s view of animal welfare and protection and animal rights. These politicians intend for that to change by sponsoring legislation that affects not only animals but people as well. For example, it is a well-established fact that animal abusers go on to commit crimes against men, women and children. By moving most animal laws out of the agriculture section of law and into the criminal code as well as enacting stricter penalties for cruelty to animals, people and animals are protected from those who would cause them harm.
Legislative efforts are also being made to:
Prevent cruelty to wildlife, prohibit roadside zoos, ban the sale of fur to stop the brutality of the fur industry, stop puppy mills and their poor breeding practices so that space can be made for shelter animals in pet stores, ban the practice of tail docking and ear cropping of dogs and declawing of cats, as well as the tattooing and piercing of companion animals, prohibit animal experiments when humane alternatives exist and adopt out animals to loving homes when released from laboratories instead of being euthanized, protect domestic violence victims and their pets by including the animals in orders of protection and allow residents in domestic violence shelters to be accompanied by their pets, prohibit the possession and sale of animals body parts used in traditional medicines, allow companion animals on public transportation during states of emergency, require any eviction officer to check for pets left behind, train police on investigation of animal cruelty and enforcement procedures, ban cruel gestation crates, and immediately close all live animal markets which are a breeding ground for animal cruelty and a public health threat through the spread of disease. This is just a beginning. There is more to do to give animals a voice.
Guests
Linda B. Rosenthal
New York City Assemblymember
Assemblymember Rosenthal has passed more than 70 laws to improve the lives of New Yorkers. Her “Paw Print” for a more humane New York includes dozens of bills proposed and passed that change the way we treat animals in society. Her historic legislation seeks to protect animals, prevent animal abuse and stop the transmission of zoonotic diseases. In response to Covid-19, her most recent bill introduced only a few weeks ago, calls for the immediate closure of all live animal markets in New York State, including the 80+ animal markets that operate in New York City, to control the spread of infectious diseases. She is the Chair of the Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and a long-time member of the Agriculture Committee. Her standing committee assignments include: Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, Energy, Housing, Health and Tourism, Parks, Arts, and Sports.
Dick Anderson
North Dakota Representative
Representative Anderson is the main sponsor of the last two major animal rights laws to pass North Dakota: a 2011 law on the prevention of cruelty to animals and a 2013 law related to the court-ordered seizure of animals. A farmer, he is a member of the House Energy, Ethics and Human Services Committees.
Dan Zwonitzer
Wyoming Representative
Representative Zwonitzer is a leading advocate for animal rights policy in his state and nationally. He sponsored a bill to strengthen Wyoming’s animal cruelty laws making animal cruelty a felony level offense upgraded from a misdemeanor. He is the chairman of the House Revenue Committee. A third generation auctioneer, he is also a former chairman of the House Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee, former vice chairman of the House Agriculture Committee and former natural resources policy advisor to a Wyoming governor.
Ron Highland
Kansas Representative
Representative Highland is a veterinarian and chairman of the House Agriculture Committee and the vice chairman of Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and Regulations. He is also a former vice chairman of the Federal and State Affairs Committee and a former chairman of the Education Committee. Rep. Highland has taught at Kansas State University Veterinary College. He has a PhD in Veterinary Pharmacology & Physiology and has also worked in Research and Development at Bayer Animal Health.
The panel will be moderated by John R.D. Celock JRN ’04, CUCNY Governor and Program Committee Co-Chair.
Special thanks goes to Kathryn Hofstetter, CUCNY Program Committee member, for arranging this important live virtual program.