[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 401 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 401
Urging China, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines,
Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, India, and all nations to outlaw the dog and
cat meat trade and to enforce existing laws against the trade.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 22, 2017
Mr. Hastings (for himself and Mr. Buchanan) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Urging China, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines,
Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, India, and all nations to outlaw the dog and
cat meat trade and to enforce existing laws against the trade.
Whereas Humane Society International, Animals Asia Foundation, and others
estimate that 30,000,000 dogs and a great number of cats die annually
across Asia for the dog and cat meat trade;
Whereas these organizations have exposed the extreme suffering of dogs and cats
at slaughterhouses and on transportation trucks, suffering that would
breach anti-cruelty laws in the United States and other countries and is
an affront to public morality in all countries where it occurs;
Whereas Humane Society International, Animals Asia Foundation and Chinese media
reports have found that a considerable number of the dogs and cats in
the dog and cat meat trade are stolen pets still wearing collars when
they reach the slaughterhouses, in addition to stray dogs and cats who
are captured for slaughter;
Whereas many dogs and cats die during transport to slaughterhouses after days or
weeks crammed into small cages on the back of vehicles, without food or
water, and others suffer illness and injury during transport, such as
broken bones;
Whereas Humane Society International and Animals Asia Foundation have found that
dogs and cats who reach the slaughterhouses are typically killed with
shocking brutality, without any regard for humane treatment, in South
Korea, China, and other countries;
Whereas British, Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino, and Indonesian scientists and
government agencies have found that the dog and cat meat trade of
capturing, transporting, slaughtering, and butchering of dogs and cats,
and the consumption of dog and cat meat, poses health risks such as
rabies infection to the traders, slaughterhouse workers, and consumers;
Whereas the World Health Organization reports that a majority of deaths caused
by rabies infections happen in Asia and Africa, and the rabies virus is
found in dogs traded for human consumption in the Philippines and other
countries;
Whereas Chinese reports and court verdicts show that dog meat traders also sell
meat from dogs and cats who have died of poisoning, contributing to the
food safety risks;
Whereas the dog and cat meat trade breaches food safety laws and regulations of
some of these countries, which have policies that include bans on
processing or selling meat from animals who have died of illnesses or
unknown causes;
Whereas China's ``one certificate for one dog policy'', introduced by China's
Ministry of Agriculture in a 2013 directive to prevent the transmission
of animal diseases across provincial boundaries, is routinely flouted by
dog transporters who are required to have a vaccination and quarantine
certificate for each dog and cat shipped across provincial boundaries
but rarely possess such paperwork, as many of the animals are reportedly
stolen pets;
Whereas millions of citizens in these countries have expressed support for law-
making and law enforcement against the dog and cat meat trade, such as
the more than 8,600,000 Chinese people who have so far expressed their
support in an online poll for a March 2016 legislative proposal to ban
trade in both dog and cat meat, making the proposal the most popular of
all 142 legislative proposals made available for online voting in China
in 2016;
Whereas the majority of people in these countries do not consume dog or cat meat
and dog and cat meat is not a part of mainstream Asian culinary
practice, as demonstrated, for example, by a June 2016 poll commissioned
by China's Beijing Animal Welfare Association, which found that 69.5
percent of Chinese surveyed had never eaten dog meat and that it was a
very rare food choice for the remainder;
Whereas activists in such countries as China, South Korea, the Philippines, and
Thailand have led public protests against the dog and cat meat trade,
pulled over trucks crammed with dogs and cats on their way to
slaughterhouses, and worked to rehabilitate, shelter, and adopt dogs and
cats rescued from the trade;
Whereas Korea Animal Rights Advocates hosted the International Conference to End
the Dog Meat Industry of Korea on August 5, 2016;
Whereas pet-keeping has risen in India, the Philippines, China, and other
countries with a dog and cat meat trade, and opposition to the dog and
cat meat trade has grown within those countries as pet-keeping
encourages compassion for animals;
Whereas 11,000,000 people around the world have called upon the Government of
China to end the annual Yulin dog meat festival and outlaw the dog meat
trade; and
Whereas the practice of dog and cat meat consumption is greatest in but not
limited to Asia, and occurs to a limited degree in other regions of the
world: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) calls for an end to the dog and cat meat industry
because it--
(A) is responsible for extreme animal cruelty;
(B) involves the theft of companion animals;
(C) is opposed by many Asian people; and
(D) poses food safety risks and threatens public
health for citizens and international visitors in these
countries;
(2) urges the Governments of China, South Korea, Vietnam,
Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, India,
and all other nations that have a dog or cat meat trade to
adopt and enforce laws banning the dog and cat meat trade, as
part of anti-cruelty laws or otherwise;
(3) urges the Governments of China, South Korea, Vietnam,
Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, India,
and all other nations to increase efforts to prevent any
leather or fur byproducts of the dog and cat meat trade from
entering international markets;
(4) encourages the Governments of China, South Korea,
Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos,
India, and all other nations to use their food safety laws to
crack down on the sale of dog and cat meat, a product that is
outside most countries' food safety regulatory mechanisms;
(5) affirms the commitment of the United States to the
protection of animals and to advancing the progress of animal
protection around the world; and
(6) urges executive branch officials to include the dog and
cat meat trade on the agenda for discussion with the officials
of countries that have a dog or cat meat industry.
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