Graphic shows Human Society grades for Florida U.S. House Representatives. Source: 2015 U.S. Humane Society Legislative Scorecard.

No member of Congress could claim a greater love of animals than U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, according to the U.S. Humane Society. The organization gave Buchanan a 100+ percent grade on its 2015 legislative scorecard, the highest possible score. “We feel very humbled by this,” Buchanan said. “I feel very passionate about this area.”

Buchanan, in fact, was the only Republican in the U.S. House to achieve such a high grade from the Humane Society. Earning a 100-percent score means voting on the side of animal protection issues on every piece of specific legislation identified by the Humane Society as critical to the organization’s mission. Earning the 100+ designation came from Buchanan serving as a prime sponsor of one of those bills, legislation to protect horses and consumers by prohibiting the transport and export of U.S. horses for slaughter for human consumption. Buchanan said he had been startled by reports of the sale of horses for this purpose to outlets in Canada and Mexico, and was also upset by a string of horse slaughters in Southwest Florida last year. “We thought this was the right thing to do,” Buchanan said of the bill.

Buchanan has also worked on establishing a refuge for the Florida Panther, work he has done largely in his role as co-chairman of the Florida Congressional delegation and alongside Democratic co-chair U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fort Lauderdale. Hastings was the only other Florida representative to earn a 100+ rating.

This is the first year Buchanan has received the top score from the Humane Society. Last year, he was among the top three Republicans in terms of score. But he said party had little to do with how representatives perform on issues like animal protection, and that legislation on matters like wildlife protection should be bipartisan. “Everybody represents a different region,” he said. “These issues are important to me but also to our part of the country. We just try to do work that reflects my feelings and the feelings of Southwest Florida.”

Graphic shows Human Society grades for Florida U.S. House Representatives. Source: 2015 U.S. Humane Society Legislative Scorecard.