We have heard the Presidential candidates debate everything from foreign policy to their stances on abortion. But how about animal welfare issues?
Bark Post has gone through each candidate and broken down their ratings when it comes to animal welfare issues. Some people’s scorecards are dismal (Ted Cruz) while others exceed expectations (Bernie Sanders). Here are the highlights.
Donald Trump: He hasn’t held public office, so he has no voting record. He has said in the past that he does not condone hunting, even though both of his sons are trophy hunters. But he was not happy that Ringling Bros. phased out this use of elephants this year, and vowed not to return to the circus.
Marco Rubio: He co-sponsored a bill that would make soring a crime. Soring is when a gaited horse is forced to lift his feet as high as possible, a very cruel and inhumane practice. There is no mention of animal issues on his campaign website.
Ted Cruz: Although he has a very low (4 of out 100) Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF) rating based on his voting record, he did vote against allowing hunting in National Parks.
John Kasitch: He signed into law a tough anti-puppy mill bill, and also made provisions protecting animals in the event of domestic violence. He has yet to address factory farming in his state of Ohio, and he seemed to not be as proactive to outlaw exotic animals as house pets. But he does have the best HSLF voting record of any of the Republican candidates.
Hillary Clinton: She has had an excellent rating with the HSLF, scoring an average of 92 out of 100 all four years in the Senate. For almost all of her voting record, she pledged her support in favor of animal and wildlife welfare. Since she is no longer a Senator, she has not been able to influence voting on these issues.
Bernie Sanders: Out of all of the candidates, it seems he has the most consistent voting record as it relates to animal welfare. His average score was 97 out of 100 in support of animals. One occasion where he was not on an animal’s side was when he voted in favor of allowing hunting in National Parks. Sanders does have a devoted page for animal issues on his website.
I am in not saying that you should be a single-issue voter, but it is interesting to see how the candidates stack up when it comes to our animal friends. And as the article mentions, it would be nice if the US considered animals sentient beings, rather than property. It has been done in the European Union, so hopefully, that change isn’t too far off for US.
Will you take into consideration animal welfare issues when voting this year? Comment below!
