Empathy for animals should cross the party divide
Ashley Byrne,
Tribune News Service
When you hear the name Richard Nixon, what's the first thing that comes to mind? My answer might surprise you: the Endangered Species Act. Nixon signed this critical bill into law in 1973 after it sailed through Congress with nearly unanimous bipartisan support, stating, 'Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed.' This landmark piece of legislation is responsible for saving many species from extinction, including the peregrine falcon, the gray wolf and the bald eagle. Before Nixon, Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1958. While it hasn't effectively ended animal suffering during slaughter, both the Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush administrations worked to strengthen it.
Barack Obama ended government funding for experiments on chimpanzees and oversaw the recoveries of numerous wildlife species. Throughout our nation's history, consideration for other species has never been a 'liberal cause' or a 'conservative cause.' It's an issue that we've been united over far more than we've been divided. If we polled Americans and asked, 'Do you support cruelty to animals?' it's likely that almost 100% of respondents would answer 'no,' regardless of their political affiliation. Considering that PETA has worked with such right-wing figures as Senator Bob Dole and G. Gordon Liddy, it's strange when I hear someone falsely suggest that 'only the left cares about animals' or that 'PETA is left-wing.'
As a PETA spokesperson, I've been invited to appear on many conservative media platforms and have found much common ground on animal protection issues, including with hosts Tucker Carlson and Jesse Watters.
Recently, under President Donald Trump, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have committed to significantly reducing or eliminating many experiments on animals in favor of the sophisticated, human-relevant methods that PETA scientists have been urging the agencies to adopt for years. The president's appointee, NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, practically quoted their appeals when he noted, 'This human-based approach will accelerate innovation, improve healthcare outcomes, and deliver life-changing treatments. It marks a critical leap forward for science, public trust, and patient care.' PETA's Los Angeles office, the Bob Barker Building, is named in honor of a staunch PETA supporter and lifelong Republican. One of the few things that GOP strategist Mary Matalin and her husband, Democratic consultant James Carville, agree on is working with PETA to oppose 'ag-gag' bills, which seek to criminalize documenting abuse of animals raised for food—the very evidence that authorities have frequently relied on to prosecute egregious acts of cruelty.
After PETA exposed extreme suffering and death at a Virginia facility that bred beagles for experiments—resulting in its closure and the rescue of nearly 4,000 dogs — Virginia lawmakers unanimously passed five PETA-backed bills providing better protection to animals bred and sold for experiments, which Governor Glenn Youngkin swiftly signed. The state has since passed additional laws requiring more transparency at publicly funded animal testing facilities and giving primates who've been experimented on a chance to retire to accredited sanctuaries. Other conservative leaders have endeavored to ban private ownership and breeding of primates and to put an end to the archaic mink fur farming industry in the US.
There's nothing 'left' or 'right' about our ability to recognize that other living beings have the capacity to suffer or about our desire to treat them humanely. Go to any dog park and you'll see guardians sharing conversations, treats and water bowls — oblivious to any political lines that might strongly divide them, simply connecting over their shared appreciation for animals. At a time when things are divisive, it's helpful to remember our mutual respect for other species. And as we work together to promote kindness to animals, we may even find that we have more for one another.
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