President’s Message:
Scourges on Our Society – Pet Mills and Horse Racing
Our lead story focuses on the miserable lives of factory-farmed companion animals who are kept in horrific conditions in pet mills. During this session of the NYS Legislature, we have an opportunity to stop the sale of pet-mill-raised dogs, cats, and rabbits in pet stores. It almost happened before — the Senate bill designed to stop such sales passed, but the companion Assembly bill did not. Let’s not let that happen again. Be a lobbyist for animals; urge your legislators to pass A.4283/S.1130 that prohibits pet stores from selling factory-farmed dogs, cats, and rabbits, and authorizes collaboration with animal shelters and rescue organizations to use store space to feature and adopt animals in need of homes. If New York joins California and Maryland, where such laws already exist, such actions would soon sound the death knell for immoral pet mills.
Another scourge on our society is the exploitation of horses by the racing industry. And to add insult to literal injury, it turns out that revenue from the gaming machines located in racinos in the state — money that should be coming into state coffers to fund education and other services — instead is subsidizing the horse racing industry. What? Yes, it’s true. Not only has an investigation conducted by a coalition of diverse groups come to that conclusion, a parallel investigation by the Albany-based Times Union newspaper has as well. The paper recently published a series of articles on horse racing, one detailing how monies from racino gaming are being channeled to the failing racing industry. I am certain that none of us wants income intended to support education to instead subsidize an abhorrent industry. There are bills in the legislature to end this chicanery and they need your support. Please ask your legislators to support A.8468 to end subsidies and A.7745/S.7260 to end tax exemptions on sales of expensive racehorses.
Read the informative Times Union articles:
- How New York Bankrolls Horse Racing with Billions
- State Investigators Struggle to Catch Cheaters in Horse Racing
- Editorial: Broken-down watchdog
Informative website: New York’s Horse Racing Bailouts and Subsidies Must End
Reference bills above in a Legislation chart
Please be kind to animals,
Patricia Valusek
President
New York State Humane Association Humane Review, Vol.XXXIX Spring 2022.