Congress Takes Horse Cruelty Head On!

For seven years now, you have helped us fight hard to protect America’s horses from the cruel and preventable practice of horse slaughter. Sadly, the few individuals profiting from this industry have spent vast sums of money to mislead some in the horse industry and US Congress. They have turned a serious animal cruelty issue into a political game. Despite all of this, support continues to grow for a ban because no false stories or fabricated tales of “unwanted horses” can derail the simple truth – horse slaughter is cruel.

As of today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN) have taken up the reins of this cause and committed themselves to ending horse slaughter by sponsoring H.R. 6598, the Conyers-Burton "Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act". This bill directly addresses the cruelty of horse slaughter – a consequence of the industry that even opponents of ending horse slaughter admit exists. This legislation is not new, as the original bill introduced in 2002 to end horse slaughter included enforcement language from Title 18 of the US Criminal Code for those found guilty of breaking the law. Chairman Conyers has simply removed the unnecessary language from the earlier versions to specifically target those causing the cruelty to horses.

Every five minutes, an American horse is brutally slaughtered for human consumption in plants in Mexico and Canada. Ironically, industry lobbyists admit to Congress that the foreign horse slaughter plants are cruel, yet the companies the lobbyists represent also own and operate these very plants across the border! Despite unsubstantiated claims of “unwanted” and “abandoned” horses, these foreign-owned plants and their killer-buyers continue to buy horses from all over America at an alarming rate to meet the demand for the animals’ flesh in fancy European restaurants.

Horse slaughter is a brutal process from beginning to end. Killer-buyers have no regard for the horses’ welfare; they just need to find as many of the animals as possible in order to fill a quota. Because the horses’ final destination is slaughter, no concern is paid to their treatment when they are collected, during transport, or in the slaughterhouse. A former equine investigator for the Pennsylvania state police summed this industry up perfectly when she said, “… horses were deprived of food and water because they were going to slaughter anyway. My conclusion is that the slaughter option encourages neglect…Money is the only objective of selling horses to slaughter. Those of us in the trenches have seen enough.”

Constituents concerned about the welfare of America’s horses must use this opportunity to speak up to their Members of Congress. The slaughterhouses, their lobbyists and the few pro-horse slaughter groups will be on Capitol Hill screaming loudly because they know support for ending horse slaughter is already strong. They know that if this issue is given a fair hearing and a fair vote, horse slaughter will end immediately.

Even though this fight has gone on for years, we must never forget that until Congress acts and passes a federal ban, horses are being hauled across the United States before being sent to Canada and Mexico to be slaughtered under even worse conditions. The slaughterhouses and their supporters hope to wear down horse advocates by stalling the political process. We must send a message that we will not stop until ALL horses are protected from slaughter.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Please call, write or email your Representative today, urging him or her to support H.R. 6598, the Conyers-Burton "Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act". Chairman Conyers and Congressman Burton intend to do everything in their power to move this measure through Congress as soon as possible. Be sure to mention the facts above and those found here.

Many Members of Congress have already supported a similar measure, so this is not a new proposal; click here to see if your legislator cosponsored the original bill. If your Representative is on the Judiciary Committee, please urge him or her to attend any upcoming hearing and speak out on this important legislation as well.

To find your Representative and learn his or her stance on horse slaughter, please visit www.compassionindex.org. You can contact your legislators directly through the Compassion Index as well.

Write to:

The Honorable (name of US Representative)
US House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Please note: HR 6598, the Conyers-Burton "Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act" is NOT the same as H.R. 503/S. 311, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (AHSPA), but it will do the same thing – end horse slaughter. Many members already support the AHSPA, so garnering support should be straightforward.

Rescues/Organizations: The list of organizations and rescues supporting a ban on horse slaughter is tremendous, and we want to make sure your voice is heard on Capitol Hill, too. If you represent a rescue or organization, please take a minute to draft a letter of support for H.R. 6598, the Conyers-Burton "Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act" for us to share with the bill's sponsors and other Members of Congress. Give personal experiences, include photos and share your work with us. Opponents of horse slaughter are not working every day with horses -- you are. Please email your letters and some pictures to chris@awionline.org or fax them without a cover to (888) 260-2271. We will ensure that Congress hears your support!

No matter how you contact your legislator, please be sure to provide him or her with your name and mailing address, and as a constituent, request a response on this issue. Please also share our “Dear Humanitarian” eAlert with family, friends and co-workers, and encourage them to contact their legislators, too. As always, thank you very much for your help.

Sincerely,

Cathy Liss
President
www.awionline.org
www.compassionindex.org

Stop Plan to Kill America's Wild Horses

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is the agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior that administers America's public lands, including the animals who call this land home.

As part of its wild horse management program, the BLM has spent the past several years rounding up wild horses and keeping them in private, long-term holding facilities—which is expensive. Now, the agency wants to euthanize thousands of healthy horses, claiming it is too costly to feed and care for them.

The ASPCA encourages the BLM to explore other solutions, including but not limited to reopening additional land for the horses and increasing certain contraception programs that have already proven safe and effective.

What You Can Do

Please visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center to email a letter to your legislators in the U.S. Congress urging them to oppose the BLM’s plan to kill thousands of healthy wild horses.Thank you for taking action for America's animals.

Time is now for Congress to act on horse slaughter!

The time to act is now! The U.S. House passed the American HorseSlaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503) last Congress, but therewasn't time for the bill to get through the Senate. ThisCongress has already introduced this important legislationagain, however, and we must take action now to prevent theannual slaughter of more than 100,000 horses in the UnitedStates for human consumption abroad.

Please join with me and contact your U.S. Representative and twoU.S. Senators now and urge them to cosponsor the American HorseSlaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503/ S. 311). This bill wouldboth prevent the slaughter of American horses for humanconsumption in the U.S. and prohibit their export for slaughterin other countries. Here is the link:
https://community.hsus.org/campaign/FED_2007_horse_slaughter3?rk=3dzOmln1B-0VW

Federal Alert: Big News from D.C.--Horse Protection Bills Revived!

Congress is back in session, and so are two crucial equine protection bills!

H.R. 503/S. 311 (The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act) will prohibit the slaughter of American horses for human consumption. Americans don’t eat horses, but last year alone more than 100,000 U.S. horses were killed for their meat, which was exported to Europe and Asia.

H.R. 249 restores protections for wild horses and burros that were undone by the passage of the 2005 Burns Amendment to the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act.

If you recognize these bills, it’s because both of them were introduced in the 109th Congress in 2006. Although both had strong support and advanced significantly through the committee process, Congress unfortunately recessed for the year before either bill could be passed.

Both have been formally reintroduced, but the approval process now must begin anew. If you believe that horses are American icons who deserve a better end than ending up on dinner plates abroad, please contact your senators and representatives today and ask that they support these important bills.

Ask your legislators to support the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.

Ask your decision makers to support H.R. 249, legislation that would protect wild horses and burros.

Please visit ASPCA.org to take action on these initiatives today. Thank you so much for your patience and your compassion

Time for the Congress to act on horse slaughter

Help Save Horses Right Out of the Gate

A ban on the slaughter of American horses for human consumption in foreign countries has been reintroduced—and support for the bill is stronger than ever. We need your help!

Now, Representatives Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Ed Whitfield (R-KY), John Spratt (D-SC) and Nick Rahall (D-WV) have teamed up to offer H.R. 503 in the House. They were able to secure the same bill number from last Congress, and along with Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and John Ensign (R-NV)—who have introduced a companion bill, S. 311, in the Senate—they are ready to move this legislation over the finish line.

Legislation banning horse slaughter made tremendous progress in the 109th Congress, but the bill stalled in the Senate and was not brought up for a vote before the end of the session.

TAKE ACTION

Please make a short polite phone call to your U.S. Representative and your two U.S. Senators today. You can reach your legislators by calling the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121, or click here to find their Capitol office phone numbers. Making a call is easy. All you need to say is:

"I am a constituent and I am calling to ask that you please protect our horses from slaughter by supporting the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503/S. 311). The House voted overwhelmingly to pass this legislation last fall, and now it is time to act again and pass this bill through Congress. If you are one of the more than 60 original cosponsors, thank you! I hope you will do all that you can to pass this important bill this year. If you you have not yet cosponsored this bill, I respectfully request that you do. Thank you."

After you make your phone call, fill in the form at the right to automatically send an email—including our video detailing the grisly slaughter of horses over the border—to your Representatives and Senators and urge them to support and pass the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.

Congress receives a lot of email. It is very important to edit the subject line and the letter below with your own words so that your legislators know the email came from a constituent.

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One last chance to save horses! Call Dec. 5!

The chance to save America's horses is in the homestretch!

The U.S. Senate will be back in session for only a few days, and we must ensure that it will take action on the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act before adjourning for the year.

Our next, and likely final, National Call-In Day for Horses is this Tuesday, Dec. 5. We must flood Senate offices with phone calls during this short window, urging them to cosponsor S. 1915 and get it to the senate floor for a vote.

Mark your calendars now.

Here's what you can do to help:

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