Target: Michael Young, acting secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Goal: Don’t hide animal welfare violations by breeders, labs, and zoos accessible to the public.
Under the Trump administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has made a shocking decision to remove public access to animal welfare inspection reports from its website, a move which will allow laboratories, puppy mills and circuses to abuse animals without fear of public outcry. Without reports documenting violations and whether or not these violations were corrected, it will be harder to put dog breeders, testing facilities, and other groups who work with animals under scrutiny.
In more sweeping terms, animal welfare advocacy groups will find it far more difficult to uncover acts of abuse, meaning it is a near certainty that many incidents will go unchecked.
Because of USDA reports, the shameful neglect of monkeys at a primate research facility operated through Harvard University was uncovered in 2012. The facility had allowed numerous monkeys to die of dehydration after not providing them with enough to drink. After this fact came to light, the lab was forced to shut down due to public scorn. Countless similar incidents will now go unchecked for years.
For now, the only way the public will be able to obtain these reports will be through Freedom of Information Act requests, which can take years to process. Sign this petition to tell Trump that transparency matters, and that the public has the right to know how animals are treated.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Acting Secretary Young,
I am very concerned by the Trump Administration’s decision to remove reports regarding animal welfare from its website. This move would appear to grant protection to organizations and entities who are causing harm to animals. This will likely result in widespread public safety concerns and untold trauma for countless animals held in testing facilities, breeding programs and zoos. Without access to public reports, puppy mills can continue to churn out sickly and under-socialized dogs, and labs can allow animals to die of neglect or torture without fear of public scrutiny. The public availability of reports has been crucial to advocacy groups, but also to individuals who have the right to know about the zoos they visit, the pets they choose to buy, and what has gone into medicines or personal products they use.
I urge you to not place a black box around all organizations who deal with animals. Those who would abuse animals should not feel that they can get a pass. Speaking up for animal welfare is speaking up for the best interests of the people. I urge you to reconsider, and to make these reports publicly accessible online once more.
Sincerely
Christine Stever
