Whereas a bipartisan domestic prohibition on the knowing slaughter, transportation, possession, purchase, or sale of a dog or cat for human consumption was included in section 12515 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 ( 7 U.S.C. 2160 ), which was enacted on December 20, 2018; Whereas the dog and cat meat trade occurs throughout the world; Whereas established dog meat markets still exist today; Whereas non-profit organizations estimate that 30,000,000 dogs and 10,000,000 cats die annually worldwide as a result of the dog and cat meat trade, and those organizations have found that a considerable number of the dogs and cats in this trade are stolen pets still wearing collars when they reach the slaughterhouses, in addition to stray dogs and cats who are captured for slaughter; Whereas there have been reports of abuse, poor living conditions, and cruel slaughtering techniques for dogs and cats farmed for their meat; Whereas many dogs and cats die during transport to slaughterhouses after days or weeks crammed into small cages on the back of vehicles without food or water, and others suffer illness and injury during transport; Whereas the extreme suffering of dogs and cats at such slaughterhouses and on transportation trucks would breach anti-cruelty laws in the United States and other countries; Whereas many government officials, civil society advocates, and activists are working to end the dog and cat meat trade on anti-cruelty and public health grounds; Whereas the World Health Organization has linked the dog meat industry to human outbreaks of trichinellosis, cholera, and rabies; Whereas individuals involved in the dog meat industry are at an increased health risk for zoonotic diseases, such as rabies, which can transfer from dogs to humans through infectious material such as saliva; Whereas the spread of disease may be exacerbated by unsanitary conditions of slaughter and by the sale of dog and cat meat at open-air markets and restaurants