HARRISBURG, April 3, 2009 – This week at a ceremony during Humane Lobby Day, the Humane Society of the United States honored Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Delaware/Montgomery, and Rep. Jim Casorio, D-Westmoreland, with the 2008 Humane State Legislator Award.
Leach and Casorio received the award for their efforts to protect Pennsylvania’s animals. Last session, Leach offered an amendment to a bill in the House of Representatives that would ban pigeon shoots in Pennsylvania. Casorio sponsored Act 119 of 2008 that strengthens the state’s commercial kennel regulations and sets standards for the breeding and care of dogs. Leach was a co-sponsor of that landmark legislation.
During the ceremony, Leach noted that he has been an animal activist since childhood. For that reason, this award held a special meaning for him.
“I am thrilled and honored to receive this coveted award from an organization for which I have so much respect,” he said. “We all have to do a better job of protecting animals – our very humanity depends on it.”
This legislative session, Leach introduced Senate Bill 396, which he previously proposed in the House of Representatives. That bill would prohibit “canned hunting facilities”, which provide individuals with the opportunity to hunt certain animals, sometimes animals procured from a zoo, in an enclosed or specified area, usually for a fee.
Humane Lobby Day, organized by the Humane Society of the United States, was held this week in Harrisburg. Animal lovers from across Pennsylvania gathered in the halls of the Capitol Building to meet with legislators and encourage the drafting and passage of animal protection legislation.
###
