Why should animal activists care about politics and get energized to really do anything?
Well there are an enormous number of opportunities in Congress and in the states to establish new and better standards for the treatment of animals in society. Right now we have opportunities to: make animal fighting a federal felony, ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption for export, ban the keeping of primates as pets, protect bison in Yellowstone National Park, include poultry in the Humane Slaughter Act, strengthen the law related to puppy mills—there are enormously important issues that can be pushed through Congress and signed by the President. Matthew Scully just wrote the cover story [“Fear Factories,”] in [the May 23rd] issue of the American Conservative arguing why conservatives should care about animal cruelty. It’s an enormously important essay, and a strong case. We should not write off conservatives. There are tens of thousands—millions—of conservatives who care about animals, and we need to continue to reach out to them as well as to liberals and moderates. Ev
