[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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