Lawmakers consider provision banning killing of dogs, cats for food

House lawmakers on Wednesday will consider an amendment to the farm bill that would bar individuals from killing dogs or cats for food, according to Bloomberg News.

The new provision would make the practice illegal for all Americans, and institute penalties for “knowingly slaughtering a dog or cat for human consumption,” as well as participating in any commercial activity related to the slaughter of animals considered household pets.

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New York, California and New Jersey have already banned the practice, Bloomberg reported.

Lawmakers on the House Agriculture Committee are considering the amendment, introduced by Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), as part of the yearly bill to reauthorize all Department of Agriculture programs, according to the report. Violators would face prison time of up to a year as well as fines.

A piece of legislation introduced by Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings (D) contains similar language and has 239 co-sponsors as of late March.

Democrats, however, are warning that the 2018 farm bill is doomed to fail in a House vote unless Republicans remove changes to meal programs contained in the bill. Top Democratic lawmakers say the bill’s changes will throw millions of Americans off the food stamps program.