[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 22, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H4287]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         IMPROVE ANIMAL WELFARE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, shooting swimming caribou from a 
motorboat, bear baiting, dogs for black bears, using artificial light, 
shooting wolf pups and bear cubs in their dens are outrageous practices 
that were banned under a 2015 rule from the Obama administration, which 
the Trump administration has now announced that it seeks to reverse. 
This is absolutely outrageous.
  Our national parks and reserves have always had special status, and 
the Trump administration wants to roll that back, essentially making 
them into game parks. It is important for people to reflect on what 
this means.
  Think about what goes on in Yosemite National Park or Yellowstone 
National Park. Would that experience be enriched by having these 
extreme hunting tactics to eliminate some of the top-line predators to 
be able to have more things to hunt? Absolutely not. Three hundred 
million people a year visit these national parks, and the draw is the 
wildlife. National parks without animals is just scenery.
  Mr. Speaker, it is important that people focus on why this is such an 
outrageous policy. These are low-density animals with low reproductive 
rates. In Alaska, there is no conflict with livestock. They have very 
little interaction with people, other than the people who want to see 
them.
  Mr. Speaker, it is wrong on three fundamental levels.
  First of all, it is just wrong. All animals suffer, and hunting them 
down with these extreme methods is cruel and is repugnant to virtually 
all Americans.
  It is wrong ecologically. For millions of years, we have seen these 
animals co-exist, and the national parks--like Yosemite or what is 
happening in Alaska--are some of the few places where that ecological 
balance continues to work. Human beings cannot improve upon it; they 
can only damage that delicate balance.
  It is also wrong economically. The economic impact for gateway 
communities, for these 300 million tourists, is profound. If we are 
going to turn these national treasures simply into game parks, hunting 
preserves, they are going to lose their allure, the economic impact 
will be dramatically diminished, as well as upsetting the ecological 
balance, and the fact that it is morally wrong.
  What we should be doing, in this Congress, is raising our voices in 
outrage over the latest attempt by the Trump administration to roll 
back sensible, commonly supported protections. And while we are at it, 
not just raising our voices, but maybe taking some action on the floor 
of this House on animal protection.
  We have the animal cruelty PACT Act that has 282 cosponsors, which 
could be on the floor Monday. The House Republican leadership has 
refused to act on the PACE Act, the Parity in Animal Cruelty 
Enforcement Act, which just got 359 votes on the floor of the House 
with an amendment. Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act, 246 
cosponsors. The Pet and Women Safety Act, 248 cosponsors. The Shark 
Finning Prohibition Act, 238 cosponsors. The Puppies Assisting Wounded 
Servicemembers, providing service animals for our veterans, has a 
majority of sponsors in the House of Representatives.
  Why can't the Republican leadership allow us to debate and pass these 
provisions to improve animal welfare and add our voices to the latest 
outrage of the Trump administration in its assault on our animal 
friends?

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