By KEVIN WALKER

Michigan Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bill that would protect cats and dogs from being used in the meat trade has been passed out of the U.S. House of Representatives.

House Resolution 6720 is also known as the Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act of 2018. The bill is a modified version of H.R. 1406, which was originally introduced by Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), as well as Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), David Trott (R-Mich.) and Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) on March 7, 2017. H.R. 6720 passed the House on Sept. 12.

The legislation, which had 246 cosponsors, amends the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit people from knowingly slaughtering a dog or cat for human consumption. In addition, the bill prohibits people from knowingly transporting, possessing, buying, selling or donating a dog or cat to be slaughtered for human consumption, or dog or cat parts for human consumption, setting a maximum fine of $5,000 for violations.

“The House of Representatives has voted to unify animal cruelty laws across the country, which would prohibit the slaughter of dogs and cats for human consumption,” Hastings said. “I am proud to have championed this effort in Congress to explicitly ban the killing and consumption of dogs and cats across the United States, and am greatly appreciative of my friend and colleague Congressman Buchanan for taking the Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act across the finish line today.

“As the House of Representatives also calls for the end of the dog and cat meat trade globally, it is important that we hold ourselves to the same standards we wish to see in others. H.R. 6720 makes that commitment, and I urge the Senate to take up this important bill without delay.”

Buchanan added that “more than half the households in America have a dog or cat as part of their family. We should send a clear message that slaughtering these beloved animals for food is unacceptable and will be punished.”

Also on Sept. 12, the House passed Res. 401, a global resolution urging other countries to prohibit and enforce laws to end their dog and cat meat trade.

According to an April 24 op-ed by Washington Post writer Caitlin Dewey, the purpose of the proposed measure is to support international animal rights activists, since reported instances of consumption in the United States are rare. The ban would send a clear signal the U.S. condemns the dog and cat meat trades in East Asia.

Activists there have questioned why the U.S. does not have its own dog meat law, according to Sara Amundson, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF).

“There are a number of countries in Asia where the trade still exists very strongly,” she said. “One of the messages that came to us was, ‘Look, if you’re going to come to our countries and export your concept of what should be done with animals, shouldn’t you make sure a trade does not take hold in the U.S.?’”

“We are grateful to Representatives Vern Buchanan and Alcee Hastings for their leadership in persuading the U.S. House to pass legislation to end the dog and cat meat trade,” said a statement from the HSLF, the lobbying arm of Humane Society of the United States. “Today's action demonstrates the commitment of Congress to end this horrific trade once and for all.

“With the House global resolution over the finish line now, we are urging the Senate to swiftly approve the common sense domestic ban bill, which mirrors provisions the Senate already passed in July as part of its farm bill.”

The precursor domestic ban bill, H.R. 1406, was incorporated into the House version of the farm bill, and has 245 cosponsors, the group said.