“Although there are some who believe that Democrats tend to be more sympathetic to animal welfare issues, my experience is that this is highly dependent on the individual legislator,” said Mike Maddox, legislative director for PIJAC. “The reality is that there is a certain measure of uncertainty with this new Congress. While there was a shift in leadership, the Congress as a whole likely moved more to the center.”

Although foreign policy and budget issues likely will capture lawmakers’ attention initially, the National Aquatic Invasive Species Act will come before Congress in coming months.

In addition, Congress may hold oversight hearings prior to the June meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, said Maddox.

Furthermore, a new form of the Pet Animal Welfare Statute of 2005, a bill to regulate high-volume animal breeders who sell directly to the public—not just wholesalers currently covered under the Animal Welfare Act—is likely to be reintroduced, Maddox said. The controversial bill was heavily championed by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), who lost the 2006 election to his Democratic opponent, Robert Casey Jr. “Santorum’s defeat, of course, is significant for the PAWS bill, and whatever progeny there is for that legislation,” Maddox said. He did not speculate when a new version of the bill might be introduced or what specific provisions could be included.

PAWS’ new backer may be Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois. Durbin’s staff told representatives of the American Kennel Club (New York) that the senator intends to introduce a version of PAWS this session, according to the Web site for the Sportsmen’s and Animal Owners’ Voting Alliance.

Also of concern, said SAOVA, is an anticipated bill or U.S. Department of Agriculture rulemaking to require dog breeders to microchip their animals and perhaps add owner/dog information to a national database.

Animal advocacy groups such as The Humane Society of the United States (Washington) also are putting more pressure on legislators. Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive officer of the HSUS, made clear his organization’s commitment to legislation and lobbying as vehicles to move its animal rights agenda forward during the “Taking Action for Animals” conference in Washington last September, according to Philip Lobo, communications director for the Animal Agriculture Alliance, a nonprofit organization based in Arlington, Va., that promotes the interests of agribusiness.

Indeed, several recent newspaper accounts have detailed HSUS’s growing financial and political clout, partly as a result of the 2004 formation of the Humane Society Legislative Fund, organized under a tax law that allows nonprofit groups to spend money actively campaigning for and against lawmakers. HSUS also was bolstered by mergers with the Fund for Animals in 2005 and the Doris Day Animal League last September, giving it 10 million members--more than twice the membership of the powerful National Rifle Association, reported a November 2006 Wall Street Journal article, “Puppy Power: How HSUS Gets the Vote Out.”

In flexing its newfound muscle, HSUS has joined the big leagues: It spent more money ($3.4 million) on congressional elections and ballot initiatives than Exxon Mobil Corp., and contributed more money ($150,000) to candidates for Congress than Halliburton Co., said the Wall Street Journal article.

According to Lobo of the Animal Agricultural Alliance, other significant changes at HSUS include its constituency: “It is clear that HSUS has found—and is cultivating—a segment of activists that are educated, organized professionals capable of making calculated moves to further the organization’s influence.”

Monitoring key issues that could affect the pet industry remains a top priority, said Maddox. “PIJAC will be following very closely the development of pet-related initiatives at the federal as well as the state level, and intends to ensure that such initiatives are both good for pets and do not adversely affect the availability of companion animals to the pet-loving public,” he added. [February 2007 PET AGE]