Mass Voters for Animals Endorses Brookline Rep. Tommy Vitolo

BROOKLINE, MA — Mass Voters for Animals has voted to endorse Brookline Rep. Tommy Vitolo's re-election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

Mass Voters for Animals, the only animal organization active in Massachusetts elections, also endorsed Vitolo in 2018 and 2020.

"Representative Tommy Vitolo stands out as a person who truly cares about animal welfare and someone who will be a strong state house advocate for animal protection and the prevention of cruelty," Dr. Marge Peppercorn, spokesperson for Mass Voters for Animals, said in a statement.

Vitolo has been active on animal welfare issues at the State House. He voted in favor of legislation designed to improve the safety and comfort of egg-laying hens. Now law, the regulations aligned Massachusetts with other Northeastern states. Vitolo has also voted in favor of anti-poaching legislation and legislation protecting research animals, bills that await action by the Senate.

As a member of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development, Vitolo has been vocal about the importance of the Act Relative to the Use of Elephants, Big Cats, Primates, Giraffes, and Bears in Traveling Exhibits, which would prohibit the use of certain wild animals in circuses and traveling shows in Massachusetts.

"From puppy mills to factory farms to circus shows, we in Massachusetts sometimes fail to live up to our values when it comes to animals,” Vitolo said in a statement. "All life deserves respect and dignity, and the Commonwealth has a role in ensuring animal welfare and compassion for pets, for agricultural livestock, and for wildlife."

In addition to the Massachusetts Voters for Animals, Vitolo has been endorsed by 80 percent of the Select Board, 80 percent of all town-wide elected officials including all elected chairs, and 75 percent of Town Meeting Members.

He has also been endorsed by former Governor Mike Dukakis, philanthropist Chobee Hoy, Senior Center Board of Directors President Betsy Pollock, Climate Action Brookline Co-chairs Susan Martin and John Harris, over two dozen former Select Board and School Committee Members, three former Brookline State Representatives, four former Brookline principals, Brookline PAX, the Environmental League of Massachusetts Action Fund, the Boston Teachers Union, and Iron Workers Local 7.