Page 8 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, July 22, 2022 DiDomenico Votes to Pass Animal Welfare Legislation B Senate passes bills to prevent inhumane treatment of puppies and kittens, encourage adoption of research animals, and enforce hunting regulations for endangered and threatened species OSTON – Last week, on July 11th , Senator DiDomenico joined his colleagues in the Massachusetts State Senate to pass three bills which promote animal welfare. S.2994 An Act protecting the health and safety of puppies and kittens in cities and towns ensures the safety of puppies and kittens during breeding, sale, and boarding. S.2992 An Act Protecting Research Animals, previously passed by the Senate in 2018 and commonly known as the ‘Beagle Bill’, encourages research facilities that use dogs and cats to offer these animals up for adoption after finishing research, rather than automatically euthanizing them. Finally, S.2993 An Act further regulating the enforcement of illegal hunting practices takes measures to discourage the illegal hunting and sale of game animals, including endangered species. “I am proud to have supported and voted to pass these bills which will improve and protect the lives and well-being of countless animals across Massachusetts” said Senator DiDomenico, Assistant Majority Leader of the Massachusetts Senate. “Our state’s values are demonstrated by how we treat all members of our society, including our voiceless dogs, cats, and endangered species. I look forward to seeing these animal welfare bills passed into law quickly so we can ensure our animals are safe and treated with respect.” “As a lifelong animal lover and owner, I am acutely aware of the importance of protecting the Commonwealth’s animals, whether in our homes, in kennels and shared facilities, or in nature,” said Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). “I am also grateful for the advocates and Senators who worked to get these bills to the Senate floor. Thank you to Senators Chandler and Rodrigues for working to protect the puppies and kittens of the Commonwealth, to Senators Lovely and Tarr for continuing to lead on pushing for the Beagle Bill, and Senator Moore for your work to strengthen poaching regulations.” Protecting Puppies and Kittens An Act protecting the health and safety of puppies and kittens in cities and towns addresses inhumane practices relating to the transfer of pets. As separating puppies and kittens from their mother and litter prior to completion of their eightweek developmental socialization stage prevents them from learning important behaviors such as bite inhibition and the development of proper social relations with other members of their species, this bill prohibits the sale of puppies and kittens under eight weeks of age. To promote continued wellbeing of puppies and kittens in group settings, this legislation tasks the Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) with creating Massachusetts’ first state-wide oversight regulations and licensure requirements of breeders, doggie daycare, and boarding facilities. The bill also ends the sale of animals on roadsides, parking lots, flea markets, or in other public spaces. Beagle Bill According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nationally more than 60,000 dogs, almost all beagles, and nearly 20,000 cats are used each year to advance scientific research and to test cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and other household products. Currently, many research labs choose to automatically euthanize these cats and dogs once their experiments are over. An Act Protecting Research Animals, commonly known as the ‘Beagle Bill’, facilitates a relationship between animal research laboratories and registered non-profit animal rescue organizations and requires that when these animals are no longer needed, the research facilities make every effort to place animals up for public adoption. Illegal Hunting Massachusetts is currently experiencing historically unMCGONAGLE | FROM PAGE 7 wide early education and care initiatives, among others. The amendment requires the Massachusetts Lottery to use age verification measures to ensure that any users are over the age of 18. “House leadership’s efforts to create a new sustainable funding source for Early Education through a new online state lottery revenue is not surprising, but rather is indicative of the House’s continued long-term leadership and commitment to the early education field and the children & families we serve,” said Massachusetts Association of Early Education & Care Executive Director William J. Eddy. One-time targeted investments Highlights: Health and Human Services • $350 million (M) for financially strained hospitals • $165M for nursing facilities workforce needs • $100M for supplemental rates for human service providers • $80M for community health centers • $30M to support rest homes across the Commonprecedented losses of species diversity, with much of the state’s wildlife increasingly vulnerable to human activities like climate change and illegal hunting. An Act further regulating the enforcement of illegal hunting practices aligns Massachusetts poaching regulations with other states, to better protect fish, birds, mammals, and endangered or threatened species. This bill also brings Massachusetts into the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, which helps states to work together to prevent illegal hunting across state lines. Having passed the Senate, An Act protecting the health and safety of puppies and kittens in cities and towns now goes on to the House of Representatives for further consideration. As An Act further regulating the enforcement of illegal hunting practices and An Act Protecting Research Animals have passed both branches of the legislature, a conference committee will be appointed to resolve differences between the bill’s two versions, if any. wealth • $25M to address food insecurity across the Commonwealth • $15M for grants to reproductive rights providers for security, workforce and educational needs • $15M for grants to nonprofits and community-based organizations to address gun violence and gun violence–related trauma Environment • $175M for state parks and recreational facilities upgrades, with $25M for communities of color • $125M for environmental justice communities • $100M for marine port development • $100M for the Clean Water Trust Fund Economic Development • $300M for the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund • $125M for small businesses, with $75M for minority-owned businesses • $50M for broadband investments in underserved communities • $75M in grants to hotels across the Commonwealth that saw financial losses during the pandemic MCGONAGLE | SEE PAGE 15
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