Big Win for Animal Lovers

This historic election has been truly amazing. It gives me joy to share the good news for animal lovers, provided by the Humane Society of the United States, which reminds us that together we can and do make a difference.

I was thrilled to read that voters around the country have taken a strong stand in regard to animal welfare.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, the humane movement won overwhelming victories in the presidential race, congressional races and ballot issue contests. These issues will make a huge impact on the welfare of animals in the years to come.

HSUS and the Humane Society Legal Fund thanked all the voters who took action in support of animal welfare, and let their voices be heard. We clearly spoke out for these animals, loudly.

Going head to head with industries that exploit animals, factory farming and the dog racing industries, animal advocates made a difference during this historic Election Day. No more will our voices go unheard.

Some races are still not decided, but here are the results provided by HSUS at this time. Updates will follow. Californians, by a vote of 63% to 37% passed Proposition 2; "Stop cruel confinement of farm animals".

Massachusetts voters passed Question 3 to "ban greyhound racing" 56% to 44%. It appears that animal lovers are making a deep impact on industries which exploit animals and corporate policy changes no doubt will follow. The HSUS update states, "The overwhelming margins of these victories should help quiet those who would defend cruelty."

The Humane Society Legislative Fund backed the Obama/Biden ticket as both senators had a strong history of supporting animal protection legislations. .President-Elect Barack Obama was a co-sponsor for legislation to stop horse slaughter and abolish dog fighting and spoke out on abuse issues related to the downed cattle while he was campaigning. Vice President-Elect, Joe Biden has been a strong supporter for animals, and fought to protect dolphins from drowning in tuna nets and to ban captive trophy hunting of exotic mammals.

We owe a debt of thanks to all the animal advocates who took an active role in these races across the country. But our work is not finished by any means. We need to continue to communicate with our representatives to not only thank those who took action to protect animals, but to let them know how important animal welfare is to us, as we turn our attention to the 111th Congress in the years ahead. There were many victories on November 4th. There are many more battles ahead of us, but by joining together and reaching out to protect our animals, we will continue to be the voice of these animals in need. Every voice counts, every one of us must work tirelessly until all our animals are treated with respect and dignity.

You can see how your representatives voted by visiting: http://fund.org/voter_guide/ and read more about the exciting results of this election at http://hslf.typepad.com/political_animal/2008/11/election-wrap.html#Other_Races

What other strategies would you suggest to ensure the safety and protection of all animals? Please let us know by leaving a comment.