HAWAII BRIEFS

WASHINGTON - Sen. Daniel Akaka and Rep. Mazie Hirono, both Hawai'i Democrats, received 100 percent ratings for their legislative advocacy on animal protection last year from the Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Legislative Fund.

"Senator Akaka and Representative Hirono have shown a deep commitment to animal welfare," Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society, said this week.

Akaka was cited for co-sponsoring Senate legislation to ban transporting, possessing, buying or selling horses for human consumption. He also sponsored a bill to prohibit using dogs and cats in research that come from dealers who traffic in stolen animals or those being given away.

Hirono was recognized for co-sponsoring a House version of the anti-horse-slaughter bill and another to require labeling of all fur products. She also voted for a bill that makes animal fighting a felony and another to ban the commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses and burros.

Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, received a 25 percent rating for co-sponsoring the horse-slaughter bill.

Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, received an 83 percent rating for co-sponsoring the horse-slaughter prohibition bill and the fur-labeling bill, among others. He voted against legislation that would have prohibited federal funding that enables imports of sport-hunted polar bear trophies from Canada.

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