Legislation

Strengthening Laws that Protect Animals and Striking Down Laws Hurting Animals

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The Animal Legal Defense Fund works at the federal, state and local levels to advance important legislation. We advocate for laws that promote or protect the lives and interests of animals, and we oppose legislation that would be detrimental to animals’ well-being.

We also work closely with the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s other programs to identify opportunities to create model legislation that address strategic legal issues in the areas of civil and criminal law, and monitor legislation that impacts animals at the federal, state, and local levels.

Federal Bills

Oppose: Food Security and Farm Protection Act

S.1326

The Food Security and Farm Protection Act, a repackaged version of the damaging EATS Act, would undermine individual states’ ability to enact their own laws affecting agricultural practices.

Mink VIRUS Act (Federal)

H.R.2185

Congress is considering a ban on mink farming to protect public health and human safety from the risk of disease transmission, including COVID-19 and avian flu, to people and wild mink populations, as well as to address concerns of animal well-being.

Pigs and Public Health Act (Federal)

H.R. 8994 

This bill aims to reduce the number of nonambulatory or ”downed” pigs — pigs who cannot stand or walk unassisted — in the food system.

Opposing the Cultivation and Trade of Octopus Produced through Unethical Strategies (OCTOPUS) Act (Federal)

S.4810

The Opposing the Cultivation and Trade of Octopus Produced through Unethical Strategies (OCTOPUS) Act would ban commercial octopus farming in the U.S. and prohibit imports of farmed octopus from foreign countries.

SEE ALL FEDERAL BILLS →

State Bills

State-level advocacy actions are available for those states in session. Each state has its own legislative schedule, holding sessions on predefined intervals.

Location

All

California (2)

Connecticut (1)

Hawaii (2)

Illinois (2)

Kentucky (1)

Maryland (1)

Massachusetts (7)

Michigan (1)

Missouri (1)

New Hampshire (1)

New Jersey (6)

New York (3)

Ohio (1)

Washington (4)

Wild Animal Public Contact Ban (California)

A.B.892

Would prohibit public encounters with animals such as handfeeding, petting, holding, or playing with nonhuman primates, bears, elephants, sloths, otters, kangaroos, wallabies, servals, and caracals held in captivity.

Retail Pet Sales Ban Bills (Massachusetts)

S. 650 and S. 618

Two bills aim to ban the retail sales of pets in the state. S. 650 would prohibit the sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits in retail pet shops; S. 618 would additionally prohibit the sale of guinea pig

Pet Custody (Massachusetts)

S.1206/H.1817

Protects the best interests of a companion animal when a couple is splitting up by providing a framework for judges to use in determining care and custody of the animal.

Civil Immunity Bill “Good Samaritan Rule” (Washington)

H.B.1046

Provides civil immunity for rescuing at-risk companion animals and vulnerable people locked in cars.

Octopus Farming Ban (New Jersey)

S.3914/A.5078

In recognition of the “advanced cognitive abilities” of octopuses, An Act prohibiting the aquaculture of any species of octopus for the purpose of human consumption (S.3914/A.5078) seeks to prohibit octopus aquaculture, also known as octopus farming.

A Bill to Ban Wild Animals in Circuses (Washington)

An Act Relating to Prohibiting the Use of Certain Animals in Traveling Animal Acts (S.B.5065)

Prohibits the use of certain wild animals in circuses and traveling animal acts in Washington.

SEE ALL STATE BILLS →

Recent Victories

Breed Neutral Policy and Animal Cruelty Cross Reporting Bill (Massachusetts)

H.4911

Massachusetts legislation would create a dog-breed-neutral policy, and remove dog breed prohibitions, related to placing a child in a foster or adoptive home; it also clarifies that human services employees can report animal cruelty.

Coercive Control Bill (Massachusetts)

S. 2820

Legislation would help victims of domestic violence, both human and animal, by updating the Commonwealth’s legal definition of abuse to include regarding “coercive control” to include committing or threatening to commit cruelty to the animal companion.

Room to Roam Act (California)

A.B. 1889

This bill would help protect California wildlife and prioritize climate resilience by establishing a statewide policy requiring local governments to consider and implement measures to protect and improve wildlife connectivity through land-use planning.

Poison-Free Wildlife Act (California)

A.B. 2552

The Poison-Free Wildlife Act would place a moratorium on some of the most dangerous rodenticides — which cause widespread poisoning of wildlife — with limited exceptions.

SEE ALL VICTORIES →