Protecting Animals

Advocating for the Humane Treatment of Animals

Senator Reed is a strong champion for animal rights. Throughout his career, Reed has supported policies that strengthen protections for animals, spanning from endangered wildlife to household pets. He has long advocated for landmark animal welfare laws such as the Animal Welfare Act; the Prevent Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act; and the Horse Protection Act (HPA). In recognition of Reed’s leadership and voting record, the Humane Society Legislative Fund has consistently given Senator Reed its highest ratings on its annual “humane scorecard.”

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior & the Environment, Senator Reed has helped secure billions of dollars in federal funding for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other agencies focused on the conservation of our animal and wildlife populations. He also helped provide funding for endangered species conservation programs through the Inflation Reduction Act, which included $2.6 billion for the conservation and restoration of coastal habitats and $125 million for Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to deploy recovery plans for endangered species.

KEY PRIORITIES & ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Senator Reed is an original co-sponsor of the Puppy Protection Act, which would ensure that dogs under the care of breeders are raised in humane conditions through stronger standards for veterinary care and the establishment of requirements for appropriate space and regular exercise.
To protect domesticated and wild horses, Senator Reed has fought successfully for the inclusion of language in annual appropriations laws that bars federal funding from being used to inspect horses under the Federal Meat Inspection Act. This effectively eliminates the operation of domestic horse slaughter plants. He also helped secure funding for wild horse and burro management, including funding for wild horse and burro humane fertility control strategy.
Lions, Tiger, and other big cats are not pets. They are wild animals whose confinement is as dangerous to their health as it is to ours. For this reason, Senator Reed was proud to be a cosponsor of the Big Cat Public Safety Act, which was signed into law on December 20, 2022. The law prevents animal cruelty by prohibiting people from irresponsibly keeping tigers, leopards, and other big cat species as pets.
Reed worked to pass legislation that bans cruel, unnecessary testing on animals. He supported the passage of the FDA Modernization Act 2.0, a law that authorizes the use of alternatives to animal testing for pharmaceutical drug studies.
Reed was instrumental in the passage of the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act, which was signed into law on December 23, 2022 as part of the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. This law effectively extinguishes the shark fin trade in the United States.