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Animals do have their very own PAC (political action committee) Humane USA:

http://www.humaneusa.org/

The Humane USA site lists the ‘Humane Scorecard’ - the voting record for each Congress on animal issues. In addition, the site lists the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ members of Congress on animal issues (something to remember when writing those letters).

In addition, there is a ‘Congressional Friends of Animal Caucus’ (CFA) co-chaired by Congressmen Christopher Shays and Tom Lantos. Below is the last known contact information for the 26 member caucus:

Congressional Friends of Animals
2217 Rayburn Office Bldg
WASHINGTON, DC 20515
Tel: + 1 (202) 225-3531

Senator listing by state

But Lydia also advises giving the senators with agricultural connections special attention. You can search for them here.

And here is a lovely sample letter to be sent to Senators associated with Agriculture:

Honorable (full name)
__(Rm.#)__(name of)Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

October ?, 2004

RE: USDA/APHIS ANPR: Animal Welfare: Regulations and Standards for Birds, Rats, and Mice (Docket No. 98-106-4).

Dear Senator:

I am writing you as a constituent in *where do you live?* to win your support for extending the definition of ‘animal’ in the Animal Welfare Act to include all rats and mice, not bred for use in research, as proposed by the Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Services (APHIS), Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Docket No. 98-106-4, published in the Federal Register on June 4th, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 108).

In accordance with the September 2000 settlement of ARDF vs. Glickman, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the USDA has finally started the process of rulemaking on the regulation of rats and mice under the AWA. As you are aware, the Helms Amendment to the 2002 Farm Bill excluded rats of the genus Rattus and mice of the genus Mus, bred for use in research, from protection under the Animal Welfare Act. However, the USDA is still considering minimal protection for the millions of rats of the genus Rattus and mice of the genus Mus currently entering the stream of commerce through the pet trade.

According to Robert Johnson, writing in the Wall Street Journal, 180 million mice and rats were raised in the United States during the year 1999, and the business of supplying so-called ‘feeder’ rodents for reptile food was a 235 million dollar per year industry. An industry that is still completely unregulated, resulting in millions of diseased and injured animals entering the stream of commerce. Due to this capricious oversight, municipalities across the country are forced to ‘police’ breeder operations with no guidance or funding, leading to tragedies such as the appalling 2002 ‘Rats R Us’ case in San Diego County, California, involving over 20,000 domestic rats. In the words of John Carlson, Regional Director, County of San Diego, Department of Animal Services, “[i]n this case, the conditions were so deplorable that prosecution was the only option. If federal regulations and inspections had been in place, these conditions could never have developed to this state.” Mr. Carlson was referring to: diseased/dying rats crawling across neighboring properties; an ammonia concentration so high animal control officers were forced to wear gas masks to work inside the barn structure; 50-60 rats crammed into cages designed to hold eight animals; cannibalism, disease, and carcasses left to rot.

Such conditions are not unusual in mass animal breeding operations, although prosecution of offenders is extremely rare. Research into the typical existence of a mass-bred rat or mouse will reveal several constants: overcrowding; contaminated or inappropriate food; cages and enclosures that cannot be sanitized in the event of disease; an excess of fecal material and urine resulting in high concentrations of ammonia fumes. Rats and mice raised in such conditions enter the stream of commerce as ‘pocket pets’; brought into America’s homes as companion animals. Such rats and mice almost always incur immediate medical expenses because they carry various parasites, suffer from respiratory diseases, and suffer from the effects of malnutrition and often bodily injury from mishandling. The average consumer has no idea where his or her pet rat originated from - and there are millions of family rats and mice in the United States. How horrible for a child to watch his or her first pet die within weeks from a completely preventable disease, such a pneumonia due to ammonia damage in the lungs.

In addition to pets, some rats and mice end up as ‘feeders’, or animals to be used as food by reptiles and raptors. The word ‘feeder’ is an artifact of the pet industry, and there is no difference between a ‘feeder rat’ and ‘pet rat’ (or ‘fancy rat’). Under pressure from the pet industry, the USDA is considering placing ‘feeder’ rats and mice in the category of ‘food and fiber’ and thus removing such animals from AWA protection. Mass breeders and rodent brokers may separate rats and mice by perceived consumer desires, such as interesting coat color or ear placement, in order to increase sales. However, the end status of a rat or mouse as a ‘pet’ or ‘feeder’ is always within the control of the consumer - not the pet store, broker, or breeder. Rats and mice are far too mingled in the stream of commerce to permit arbitrary designations created only to evade basic humane standards on the part of breeders and brokers. In addition, other common ‘feeder’ animals, such as guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus), hamsters (Cricetus cricetus, et al.), and rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are regulated by the Animal Welfare Act, and are not separated into ‘feeder’ and ‘pet’ categories.

In conclusion, I would ask you to encourage the USDA in their rulemaking efforts on behalf of rats of the genus Rattus and mice of the genus Mus, not bred for use in research. We need federal guidelines and oversight in order to properly monitor conditions and bring successful prosecutions for animal cruelty against violators. The rat and mouse breeding industry has been allowed to balloon without regulation for too long, with disastrous results.

Sincerely,

Your Name!

Your Address!
Your Telephone Number!
Your E-Mail Address!

tips for writing congress

1) Be courteous.

2) Put your name and address/location at the very beginning of the letter.

3) Begin the letter with “Dear Senator LastName”

4) Briefly state your issue (you would like to see the USDA regulate the care of rats and mice in the pet/feeder industry). Specifically, [Docket No. 98-106-4] - Animal Welfare; Regulations and Standards for Birds, Rats, and Mice.

5) State *why* - How will this change impact you?

6) Be courteous.

For example (but remember: a letter written in your own words always means a lot more!):

My Name
My Address
My City, State ZIP [< ----IMPORTANT]

RE: [Docket No. 98-106-4] - Animal Welfare; Regulations and Standards for Birds, Rats, and Mice [< ----IMPORTANT]

My Senator’s Name
My Senator’s Address

Dear Senator MySenator’sLastName,

Hopefully you’ve had the pleasure within your lifetime to share your home with a family pet. If you have, I’m certain you value their good health and the great love pets bring to your home and family.

I, myself, share my home with pet rats. And despite the seemingly excessive vet care costs (_$###.##_ annually), we have _#_of_rats_.

I am not alone either. Did you know that rats have been growing in popularity as pets since the early 1990s? There are several Internet groups devoted to them, and one, the “ratlist,” has more than 1500 members with each having on average, 5-15 rats. And that doesn’t nearly account for all the U.S. families with pet rats.

One problem that we ratters find ourselves encountering on a regular basis is an almost immediate vet bill incurred due to the poor health of our pets acquired from pet stores who acquire their rats and mice from mass breeders. Because of improper care, housing, and handling, we find ourselves having to treat for pneumonia, parasites, and fungal infections at nearly the moment they walk into our homes.

We also worry about the welfare of our children as some parasitic and fungal diseases (which, with proper care, would never come to be) are communicable to our families (pinworms and ringworm, for example).

We believe that we are incurring these unnecessary veterinary and personal medical expenses because, currently there are no regulations or protections on how rats are handled, treated, housed, and transported. Rats are very robust animals, even moreso than cats or dogs, but because they are forced to spend the formative weeks of their lives in tiny feces-and-urine-coated containers which are in turn packed into poorly ventilated warehouses, it’s no surprise that they come home sick.

We, the rat community, would like to change that, so I am appealing to you for your help in this matter. We ask for your support in implementing specific regulations for the care of rats and mice (docket no. 98-106-4) as currently the only regulations in support of their care are filed under “Title 9: Subpart F". And those regulations are very rarely enforced because they are so “vague.”

We agree that the current regulations detailed by the NIH regarding the care of laboratory rats and mice, if incorporated and enforced, would be adequate in achieving this goal. With rat and mouse specific USDA protection we’re certain that we’ll have healthier rats because of cleaner living conditions, better care and treatment, and safer transportation. Please find it in your heart to help us to help our pet rats.

Sincerely,

[signature]

FirstName LastName