Republic of Angola (Xyami): Michael Markarian: Animals & Politics

Monday, October 20, 2008

Michael Markarian: Animals & Politics

Posted: 20 Oct 2008 12:05 PM CDT

I led a press conference and spoke to a group of volunteers in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., this morning, announcing that the Humane Society Legislative Fund today launched a new TV ad opposing the reelection of Republican Congressman Joe Knollenberg in Michigan's 9th District.

Surveying the national landscape on animal protection policies, HSLF has determined that Joe Knollenberg has one of the worst records on animal cruelty in the entire Congress. He has voted to allow the slaughter of American horses so their meat can be served as a delicacy in France and Belgium; to allow wealthy American trophy hunters to shoot threatened polar bears in the Arctic and bring back their heads and hides for bragging rights; to allow sick and crippled cows to be abused in horrible ways to get the poor creatures and their tainted meat into our food supply; and even to de-fund the U.S. Department of Agriculture's enforcement of the federal law used to combat illegal dogfighting and cockfighting. You can read more about Joe Knollenberg's terrible record here.

Shockingly, Knollenberg's response is that he loves animals. But he's got a long and embarrassing record of opposing moderate animal welfare policies, and voters will see through this phony election-year conversion on animal issues. He has had 16 years in office to demonstrate where he stands on the humane treatment of animals, and time and time again he has voted against common-sense animal welfare reforms. He has had eight sessions of Congress to prove where he stands, and we say eight is enough.

Oakland County voters who care about the humane treatment of animals need to know that Joe Knollenberg is simply out of step with the mainstream values of protecting animals from abuse and harm. Michigan volunteers have joined HSLF in knocking on thousands of doors in the district, and HSLF has also sent direct mail to thousands of animal welfare supporters, telling them about Joe Knollenberg's terrible record on animal cruelty, and urging them to vote for Democratic challenger Gary Peters instead. You can watch our new TV ad here, or see it below.