On da hill, in da statehouses, at da council in brief

The House has passed the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act (HR 3858), reports the HSUS. It would require state and local authorities receiving federal disaster to consider in their emergency preparation plans "the needs of individuals with household pets and service animals following a major disaster or emergency."

Following an embarrassing first try, Arizona has criminalized bestiality once again. The new law follows a high profile case involving the sexual assault of a lamb which brought to legislators' attention that bestiality has been decriminalized in the state since 1985. See this research memo. SB 1160 codifies the offense of bestiality in the same section of the code as the offense of child molestation.

Philadelphia is considering banning foie gras. (Update (6/4/06): Councilmember Kelly's bill [pdf].)

The mayor of Albuquerque has signed an animal care ordinance he thinks would be bad if enforced. There's a lot to like: limits on chaining, mandatory spay/neuter, very specific requirements regarding spaces for keeping animals, a broader power to seize animals. There's also some nice, but precatory language that the City Council "finds that the people of Albuquerque should treat animals as more than just lifeless inanimate chattel property." (Update 12/4/06: a challenge to the law has largely failed.)