Republicans and Democrats fight like cats and dogs about almost everything, but they’ll join forces this week to support a bill that says neither of those animals should be eaten by humans.
On Wednesday, lawmakers are expected to take up the Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act, which would ban people from knowingly slaughtering cats or dogs for food, or from being involved in any related transaction.
The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., says dogs and cats “provide important companionship to millions of people and should not be slaughtered and sold as food.”
Under the bill, people could be fined up to $5,000 per violation, although it exempts religious ceremonies conducted by certain Indian tribes from the ban.
The bill is meant to create a federal law in an area that most states haven’t touched. Just six states have laws in place banning the eating of cats and dogs by people.
The bill has bipartisan support, and should easily pass the House when it’s called up. It has three Republican cosponsors, and five Democratic cosponsors.
One of the Democrats, Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida, has a separate, non-binding resolution opposing the consumption of cats and dogs overseas. His resolution should also come up Wednesday, and it calls on China, South Korea, Vietnam, and other Asian nations to outlaw trade in meat from cats and dogs.
Both measures will come up under a suspension of House rules, a process usually reserved for non-controversial bills that are expected to pass easily.
