Make a Difference in the Lives of Animals Tonight!

Alexandria, VA – Tomorrow is Humane Lobby Day in Virginia and our animal friends need us to advocate and be a voice for them.

The President of the Virginia Federation of Humane Societies is asking interested Virginians to call or email about several companion animal bills. If any of these are issues that concern you, we ask that you reach out to your legislators!

Please take a moment to email the three Senate Subcommittee members tonight in support of the following bills.  The Senate Agriculture Companion Animal Subcommittee will hear all of these bills tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM.

·  SB304 (Senator Stanley):  Requires shelters to report euthanasia rates, and if over 50%, prohibits the purchase, possession, or administration of euthanasia drugs.  If a shelter euthanizes over 50% of the animals in its care, the shelter will need to use a licensed veterinarian to perform euthanasia.

·  SB310 (Senator Stanley):  Requires public animal shelters to wait three days before euthanizing an animal if the shelter has been notified of the intent to adopt the animal.

·  SB311 (Senator Stanley):  Prohibits breeding dogs or cats for the express purpose of medical research and experimentation.

·  SB337 (Senator Stuart):  Creates an Animal Cruelty Conviction List.

·  SB669 (Senator Boysko):  Similar to SB311, this bill prohibits breeding a dog or cat for use in research, experimentation, or testing that is not required under federal law.

·  SB786 (Senator Lewis):  Addresses public and private animal shelter housing conditions to ensure that the more restrictive conditions apply only to stray animals during the stray hold, and to add clarity to what is appropriate for indoor versus outdoor areas.

Here’s a simple message that you can send to the members of the Subcommittee:

Dear Chairman Marsden and Senators Favola and Pillion:
I am writing to support several incredibly important bills that will come before the Companion Animal Subcommittee on Thursday, January 23, 2020.  Several of these bills are designed to help the plight of animals in the shelter and rescue community, and to aid shelters and rescues in their lifesaving mission.  Two other bills will provide vital protection to animals used for medical research or experimentation:
·  SB304
·  SB310
·  SB311
·  SB337
·  SB669
·  SB786
Please vote to support these bills when they come before the Companion Animal Subcommittee.
Thank you for your consideration!

Here is the contact information for the Subcommittee members:
Chairman:  Senator David W. Marsden, 804-698-7537 or [email protected]
Member:  Senator Barbara A. Favola, 804-698-7531 or [email protected]
Member:  Senator Todd E. Pillion, 804-698-7540 or [email protected]

You can make a change and make a difference in the lives of animals!