[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 176 (Tuesday, November 5, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S6396]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 29--URGING ALL NATIONS TO OUTLAW THE DOG 
   AND CAT MEAT TRADE AND TO ENFORCE EXISTING LAWS AGAINST SUCH TRADE

  Mr. MERKLEY submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 29

       Whereas a bipartisan domestic prohibition on the knowing 
     slaughter, transportation, possession, purchase, or sale of a 
     dog or cat for human consumption was included in section 
     12515 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Public Law 
     115-334), which was enacted on December 20, 2018;
       Whereas the dog and cat meat trade occurs throughout the 
     world, primarily in Asia;
       Whereas established dog meat markets still exist today;
       Whereas Humane Society International, Animals Asia 
     Foundation, and others estimate that 30,000,000 dogs and 
     10,000,000 cats die annually worldwide as a result of the dog 
     and cat meat trade, and those organizations have found that a 
     considerable number of the dogs and cats in this 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 there have been reports of abuse, poor living 
     conditions, and cruel slaughtering techniques for dogs and 
     cats farmed for their meat;
       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;
       Whereas the extreme suffering of dogs and cats at such 
     slaughterhouses and on transportation trucks would breach 
     anti-cruelty laws in the United States and other countries;
       Whereas many government officials, civil society advocates, 
     and activists are working to end the dog and cat meat trade 
     on anticruelty and public health grounds, and the Governments 
     of Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, and Hong 
     Kong have passed laws banning the dog meat trade;
       Whereas the World Health Organization has linked the dog 
     meat industry to human outbreaks of trichinellosis, cholera, 
     and rabies;
       Whereas those involved in the dog meat industry are at an 
     increased health risk for zoonotic diseases, such as rabies, 
     which can transfer from dogs to humans through infectious 
     material such as saliva;
       Whereas the spread of disease may be exacerbated by 
     unsanitary conditions of slaughter and by the sale of dog and 
     cat meat at open-air markets and restaurants; and
       Whereas the World Health Organization and the Global 
     Alliance for Rabies Control have both acknowledged the link 
     between the spread of rabies and the dog meat trade which 
     sees large numbers of dogs of unknown disease status moved 
     vast distances: Now, therefore be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) calls for an end to the consumption and trade of dog 
     and cat meat on cruelty and public health grounds;
       (2) urges all nations with a dog or cat meat trade to adopt 
     and enforce laws banning that trade; and
       (3) affirms the commitment of the United States to 
     advancing the cause of animal protection and animal welfare, 
     both domestically and around the world.

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