Obama to Appoint Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture
Tom Vilsack cooks pork with Senator Hillary Clinton at the Iowa State Fair in 2007.
Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images.
President-elect Obama is expected to announce the appointment of former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture today.
OK, he cooks pork while donning a "The Other White Meat" apron, but Vilsack was one of the more animal-friendly choices for Secretary of Agriculture. According to the Mike Markarian of the Humane Society Legislative Fund:
[Vilsack] has a solid record on animal protection. As chief executive, he didn't address the most complex issues such as the massive pollution from hog factory farms, but he advocated for bills to toughen the state's penalties for animal fighting, and he stood up to the hunting lobby and vetoed legislation that would have allowed the target shooting of mourning doves for the first time in decades.
The Secretary of Agriculture cannot be expected to be a vegan activist, but there are issues where an animal-friendly appointee could make a significant difference for animals. For example, some sectors of the horse industry would like to see horse slaughterhouses re-opened, and this issue could fall under jurisdiction of the US Department of Agriculture. Mainstream animal welfare changes for farmed animals could also be advanced through the USDA. Furthermore, the USDA administers the Animal Welfare Act, and was responsible for removing Ned, the emaciated elephant, from his trainer and sending him to a sanctuary.
This appointment follows a nationwide campaign to urge Obama to appoint an animal-friendly cabinet, and it's a relief to see that the appointee is someone who has stood for animal protection, at least on some issues.
Links:
- Where do Obama, McCain, Palin and Biden Stand on Animal Rights Issues?
- USDA Ordered to Stay Out of California's Proposition 2
- What is the President's Cabinet, and Who Will Be in Obama's Cabinet?
- Who is Tom Vilsack?
Comments
Oh big deal…I’d say he has a pitiful record for animal rights/animal welfare, etc. Iowa profits from the cruelty to HOGS, their #1 money makers, wherein millions of pigs exist in misery, unnatural environment and routinely abused by workers in the giant animal production, transport and slaughter business. Throw a little tidbit to the helpless, tortured animals – No deal for the animals, I’d say. Business as usual at animal’s expense in suffering and brutal death.