The Washington State Legislative Session has officially come to a close. This was a fast and extremely tough year, with hundreds of bills introduced and only 60 days to get through it all. This meant some very tough competition for animal welfare legislation. Throughout the quick session, we actively supported 11 animal welfare bills, lobbied with legislators in Olympia, and more than 1,400 advocates took 5,431 actions to speak up for animals.
Thanks to your advocacy and support, we are thrilled to share an important win for animals: HB 2247 / SB 6072: Expanding Veterinary Telehealth Access has officially passed! Animals of all species across the state will now have better access to veterinary care – when in-person visits aren’t immediately available, when transportation is a barrier, or when delays in treatment would cause unnecessary suffering.
While this was the only animal welfare bill to pass this session, it is far from the only progress made. Despite overwhelming public support, the bans on cat declawing, the sale of farmed octopus, and force-feeding birds for foie gras didn’t make it through this year’s tight deadlines. But we’re not giving up. We will be working with legislators on these important bills (and much more) throughout the interim and look forward to these bills being reintroduced next year – stronger than ever.
See all the bills we tracked this session here.
Lasting change takes persistence, and we are not giving up. Thank you for standing with us. Your advocacy, your voices, and your continued support fuel this lifesaving work on behalf of animals and we cannot do it without you.
