It has been a couple of weeks since the new Republican administration surreptitiously erased invaluable information from the Agricultural Department’s website regarding animal welfare information at thousands of sites across the country. While concerned citizens and animal welfare organizations were able to shame the government into returning some of the purged documents, thousands of documents still remain hidden. At the time, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) stepped up to represent basic decency.
“Ending animal cruelty starts with getting the facts out there,” Wyden said. “The USDA’s partial restoration of public information that was inappropriately hidden from Americans is a recognition that this information never should have been taken down in the first place.
“I am working on ways to permanently make sure this information stays public in order to give Americans the information they need to hold puppy mill operators and other animal abusers accountable.”
This past Thursday, Sen. Wyden submitted S. 503 — Animal Welfare Accountability and Transparency Act. Trump, like his Republican brethren, consistently attacks anything with the word “welfare” attached to it—which is why they call corporate welfare and welfare tax cuts for the rich “economic stimulus.”