Several presidential candidates have been supporting animal protections, including Julián Castro (Image via: Insideclimatenews.org)

Julián Castro Released Presidential Animal Welfare Plan

The democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate, secretary of housing and urban development under President Barack Obama, and the former mayor of San Antonio, Julián Castro, released the detailed plan to take care of animal rights on Monday. In the plan called “The PAW Plan", Castro wants to end any euthanizing act for healthy cats and dogs in shelters. He strives to make animal cruelty to be considered a federal crime. This plan aligned with his will to rescue the relationship between people and animal which has already been corrupted by human’s act and climate change. Castro also proposed a $40 million grant program to expand spaying, neutering and vaccinations for low-income pet owners. Another act noted in his plan is expanding U.S. protected lands to 30 percent by 2030.The ultimate goal of protected land is 50 percent by 2050.

Other than that, the strengthening of the Endangered Species Act is on his plan. It has been weakening under the Trump presidency. He will ban the use of federal land for fossil fuel exploration and end the import of big-game trophies. Castro set a higher standards for factory farms and for a ban on the private ownership of lions and tigers. The ownership of tigers is rising recently in the U.S. until there very few tigers left in the wild. He’s also looking forward to enforce strict penalties on the domestic ivory trade. Castro is criticizing Trump for the inadequacy in NRA law that allows trophy hunting. He said Trump doesn’t care about animals and values profits over people, as well as individual fortunes over collective future.

According to Castro, the President Donald Trump’s attitude to climate change and ongoing declines in biodiversity are responsible to weaken the U.S. Endangered Species Act. In the past, Julián Castro has been known as the supporter of animal rights. In his time as mayor of San Antonio, San Antonio successfully reduced the number of homeless pets being euthanized. So he expects the plan can be a model for national policy. He intends to appoint an Interior secretary who is not a lobbyist for oil and gas, but a conservation scientist committed to fixing environmental disaster under Trump presidency. Despite all of it, Castro is still struggling to gain more polls for the September Democratic debates.

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/juli-n-castro-s-new-animal-rights-plan-takes-favorite-n1044106