Politicians who support animal rights.

Politicians who support animal rights.

Animal Rights Candidates

Do you consider the animal rights voting records for the people you vote for? While it’s hard to find the perfect candidate you might want to consider where those you vote for stand on animal welfare. If you’re not happy where they stand consider calling, writing, and emailing them (respectfully) to consider alternative views.

How we calculated scores

We gathered the voting records from four different animal rights groups from the website Vote Smart Facts Matter. We took the most recent ratings from each of the groups and added them to the maps below. You’ll first find a map with each politician’s average rating from the groups. Further below you’ll find scores from each individual group.

Overall ratings for politicians

The following map displays the overall rating for politicians based on the four maps below it.

Food Policy Action

“Food Policy Action’s mission is to highlight the importance of food policy and to promote policies that support healthy diets, reduce hunger at home and abroad, improve food access and affordability, uphold the rights and dignity of food and farm workers, increase transparency, treat farm animals humanely and reduce the environmental impact of farming and food production.”

Food Policy Action was established in 2012 in order to hold legislators accountable on votes that have an effect on food and farming. Some of the topics they highlight are:

• Hunger. One in five children in the US is facing hunger issues. This number increased because of the pandemic.
• Nutrition. Poor nutritional choices are the leading cause of death and contribute to the huge medical costs in the country.
• Food safety. One in six people is sickened by food born illness and over three thousand people die from contaminated food a year.
• Worker safety. Farm work can be dangerous and many farmworkers have gotten COVID-19 and over 300 have died from it already.
• Farm income. Small farms are going bankrupt and need help from the government to survive vs industrial farms.

Animal Welfare Institute

“Since 1951, the Animal Welfare Institute has been dedicated to reducing animal suffering caused by people. We seek better treatment of animals everywhere— in the laboratory, on the farm, in commerce, at home, and in the wild.”

Since 1951 the Animal Welfare Institute has been working to end the suffering of animals. They began with a strong emphasis on animal lab testing and have since branched out to other animal issues. Other issues they advocate for animals are:

• Factory farming. The majority of farm food today comes from large industrials farms. On these farms, animals experience little joy and often never go outdoor their entire lives. The Animal Welfare Institute brings attention to everything from the breeding and raising of farm animals, to their transport and slaughter.
• Reform to cruel wildlife trapping.
• Protect endangered species.
• Protect companion animals. They work to highlight the issues with puppy mills. They offer resources for safely traveling with your pet on vacation and during an emergency.
• Protect animals during transport.

Humane Society Legislative Fund

“At the Humane Society Legislative Fund, our mission is to Get Political for Animals by working to pass animal protection laws at the state and federal levels, to educate the public about animal protection issues, and to support humane candidates for office.”

The Humane Society Legislative Fund is a separate wing of the Human Society meant to lobby for animals in Washington. “HSLF was formed in 2004 by The Humane Society of the United States and The Fund for Animals, two of the nation’s leading animal protection organizations. In 2006, the Doris Day Animal League joined forces with HSLF. As the new lobbying arm of three organizations that have long recognized the need for public policy changes for animals.”

Some of the issues they lobby on behalf of animals are:

• Cruel lab testing on animals for products and medicine. They are looking for alternative methods to the testing and to crack down on the shady “b dealers” of cats and dogs.
• Farm animal’s quality of life. Many chickens spend the majority of their lives in tiny cages where they can barely move.
• Domestic pets and cruelty. From dogfighting and cockfighting to cracking down on puppy mills.
• Wildlife. Whether it’s making sure citizens don’t own wildlife or protecting endangered species.
• Equines. From racing horses to wild horses America’s horses are under threat.

Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund

“In the Center for Conservation Innovation at Defenders of Wildlife, we focus on improving wildlife conservation in the U.S. using a unique combination of science, technology, and policy.”

The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fun works to protect wildlife on the ground, in the court room and in Washington D.C. They work to protect all types of wildlife in all types of environments in America.