Hillary Clinton Meets With Animal Advocates, Adds Animal Welfare Issues To Website

[zappaman]

For the first time in history, a United States presidential candidate of a major party has included animal welfare and protection on their official website. Hillary Clinton launched “Protecting animals and wildlife” in the “Issues” section of her official website yesterday.

As stated on her website: “Hillary is committed to promoting animal welfare and protecting animals from cruelty and abuse.” Clinton and her team has spoken with animal rights advocates such as Russell Simmons; Congressman Earl Blumenauer; Simone Reyes, Director of Television Development at Def Pictures; Judie Mancuso, president of animal welfare organization Social Compassion in Legislation; and experts at the Humane Society and other groups through the course of the campaign. -

See more at: http://www.worldanimalnews.com/content.php?content_ID=814#sthash.kxQAVUP9.Z1lS5ODy.dpuf

Can't argue with this.

[Peregrine Took]

1. Hmmmm.....best thing she has done, imo. n/t

[zappaman]

2. I think I would agree with that.

[lagomorph777]

8. Dammit - am I going to have to start liking her?

I'm a Bernie supporter, but I have to say this is a great move for Hillary.

[procon]

3. I'd really like to see a change in how our pets are classified.

Right now our furbabies only have the legal status of your personal property, no different than a chair or a toaster. This limits their protections, and any damages that their guardians can recover when their animal family members are injured or killed as a result of intentional or negligent conduct. Changing pets to companion animals would give then lots more legal rights and define the animal's actual worth to the owner instead of just its market value.

[JSup]

4. Considering that during hard breakups...

...sometimes the pet is a 'target' to get revenge, I agree.

I'd go to prison if someone hurt my girl.

[zappaman]

6. You mean like this?

UK Companies Introduce 'Pawternity Leave' for Pet Owners

Taking care of a pet can be difficult with a full-time job, and some employers in the United Kingdom are introducing policies to make balancing work and animal parenting a little easier. According to TODAY, companies have begun to adopt "pawternity" leaves so that pet owners can take as much time as they need to nurse their companions back to health.

Public Radio International (PRI) reports that paternity and maternity leave for parents of new babies are statutory in the UK, and with 60 percent of the nation's population being pet owners, more people are "warming to the idea" that pets may also need more time with their owners (and vice versa). A pet care insurance company was among the first to create a formal policy, according to The Bark, and it inspired other area businesses to follow suit, offering anywhere from a few hours to a couple months of paid leave for animal-related emergencies.

"We are quite sympathetic to pets in the UK," company and pet owner Greg Buchanan told PRI. Having had personal experiences with pets that needed more contact with their owners, Buchanan implemented the plan at his small tech company, but admits that it is on a case-by-case basis. "If somebody’s asking for time off for a goldfish, no, no—then it’s not quite what we set out for."

According to TODAY, estimates from the American Pet Products Association (APPA) show that there are more pets in U.S. households than there are children under the age of 18. But given the debate surrounding paid parental leave, the argument for pawternity leave will most likely be shelved for the time being.


http://mentalfloss.com/us/go/79578

[procon]

7. I can't even imagine it. nt

[zappaman]

9. I think it's a possibility here with companies like Google that can lead the way.

Could happen.

[bettyellen]

11. Strangely enough, my last manager was ONLY compassionate about leave to take care of an ill pet....

It was the only time she offered up full cover for me to disappear for a couple of days.
A year later a friend was on deaths door, and I explained I would have to take a day out of the office for the wake/ funeral out of town (but would be working remotely at least a couple of hours) and she fought me, guilted me and made me show her the fucking obituary before she reluctantly accepted that I could not come into the office. People are weird. She was definitely nicer to cats than she was to us.

[TDale313]

5. Ok, I can support her on this. n/t

[Turin_C3PO]

10. Good!

One of my top issues.

[Surya Gayatri]

12. K & R most enthusiastically.

[imaginary girl]

13. donation worthy!

Awesome!

[flvegan]

14. Yeah, you can.

Kucinich did it first.

But, no sweat on Hillary. I applaud her for this.

[Cha]

15. Mahalo for this, zappa!

[w4rma]

16. She's allowed to support this issue. Her wealthy donors could care less about it. (nt)

[Vattel]

17. Bernie has done better than Hillary on animal welfare issues.

HSLF average rating for Bernie: 97
HSLF average rating for Clinton: 92

To see what Bernie thinks: http://feelthebern.org/bernie-sanders-on-animal-welfare/

[betsuni]

18. K&R

[Raissa]

19. K&R

[raouldukelives]

20. Wow. That means a carbon tax at the very least.

You can't be pro-climate change and pro-animal welfare.

[MoonRiver]

21. Wonderful!

This is my #1 issue, and it is so heartening to see my candidate embrace it!