[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 125 (Thursday, July 20, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3463-S3464]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 16--URGING ALL COUNTRIES TO OUTLAW THE DOG 
   AND CAT MEAT TRADE AND TO ENFORCE EXISTING LAWS AGAINST SUCH TRADE

  Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr. Scott of Florida) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 16

       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 (7 U.S.C. 
     2160), which was enacted on December 20, 2018;
       Whereas the dog and cat meat trade occurs throughout the 
     world;
       Whereas established dog meat markets still exist today;
       Whereas nonprofit organizations 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

[[Page S3464]]

     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;
       Whereas the World Health Organization has linked the dog 
     meat industry to human outbreaks of trichinellosis, cholera, 
     and rabies;
       Whereas individuals 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 countries 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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