OkcPets Magazine March 2023

14 OKC Pets • March / April 2023 A Voice for Humane Treatment Drew Edmondson Receives a Kirkpatrick Foundation Award for Animal Protection by Heide Brandes | Photos courtesy of the Kirkpatrick Foundation W hen Drew Edmondson — former Oklahoma legislator, attorney general, and gubernatorial can- didate — speaks, he does so with a quiet, humble voice. Beneath that calm timbre, however, is a bulldog tenacity to protect Oklahoma’s environment and health, a mis- sion that has extended to the humane treat- ment of animals in the state and beyond. Edmondson is best known for filing in 1996 — and being on the national legal team that settled in 1998 — the state at- torney-general lawsuits against the tobacco industry. When entered, the settlement had an estimated value to Oklahoma of $2 bil- lion during the first 25 years, but payments would continue as long as cigarettes were sold. Perhaps more important, Edmondson led the effort to create a constitutional trust to receive the bulk of the payments. That trust, dedicated to protecting the health of Oklahomans and known as the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET), is now valued at more than $1.8 billion. Edmondson then took on commercial and industrial chicken farms for pollut- ing Oklahoma rivers and waterways and helped in the fight to end the cruel practice of cockfighting. He is now a voice for the humane treatment of all animals, including those raised for slaughter. For his advocacy, Edmondson is one of two recent recipients of the Kirkpatrick Honor for Animal Wellbeing, for achieve- ment and leadership in animal welfare. Dr. Jennifer D’Agostino, senior director of vet- Drew Edmondson and Dr. Jennifer D’Agostino, Oklahoma City Zoo senior director of veterinary services, both received the 2022 Kirkpatrick Foundation’s Kirkpatrick Honor for Animal Wellbeing for achievement and leadership in animal welfare.