Legislative Projects

Could your community be more animal-friendly? Always! You can play an active role in your city, county, or state’s lawmaking process.

Participate in Local Government

Draft and lobby for animal protection bills and against those that are harmful to animals. Choose a local animal protection issue, such as horse tripping or dog tethering, and draft a bill that better protects animals. The Animal Legal Defense Fund has a collection of model animal protection laws for your reference. See how your state’s anti-cruelty laws measure up by checking out our U.S. Animal Protection Laws Rankings.

Contact Lawmakers

Do you know who represents you? Find out, then write letters, send faxes and phone them about pending local, state, or federal legislation. The best ways to reach your representatives are (in order of effectiveness): meeting them in person (at their office or a town hall meeting), calling, sending a written letter or fax, sending an email, and contacting them on social media. Hold a call-a-thon event at your school to encourage students to call in favor or against a bill. Attend a legislative hearing, trial, or a local Humane Lobby Day to meet legislators and talk about animal law issues.

Check city and state government websites to stay up-to-date on current legislation, or contact us to see if there is pending legislation in your area. For more tips on how to effectively contact your lawmakers, see this article from For All Animals.