As you may know, the 2024 Michigan legislative session closed with a wail of despair. Near the end, the State House was unable to vote due to intentional member absence, leaving hundreds of bills to die — including a long list of important animal protection bills such as:
- Pet license plate (funding for spay/neuter and support for shelters)
- Cat declaw ban
- Animal Bond and Forfeiture (allowing a better process to get cruelty case animals out of shelters and into loving homes)
- Queenie’s Law (ending painful experiments on dogs)
- Veterinary telehealth expansion (to better help people and pets)
- Ban on pet stores selling dogs, cats, and bunnies
- More protections for outside dogs
It was a list we all worked so very hard on that never made it to the finish line. We even had hopes for a ban on wildlife killing contests, a moratorium on CAFOs, and an end to breed discrimination.
Tragically, not one single animal-friendly bill passed last session. (I don’t count Teddy’s Law because it was made toothless before it was passed.)
We know the political process is long and filled with crater-sized potholes, and our opponents want us give up and go home. But the animals need us to keep fighting!
With the changes in political control, we need to stay vigilant. It won’t just be about trying to improve; it will also be about not backsliding. For example, we can expect renewed efforts to allow wolf hunting in Michigan and attempts to claw back minimal humane standards in industrialized farming.
Please watch for alerts that need your action. Right now, it may seem like your effort doesn’t matter. But it all matters. It just takes time.
As Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Nothing worth having comes easy.”
I’m sure not giving up, and I hope you won’t either!