Support SAVING AMERICA'S HORSES, the documentary film campaign, because all horses need to be protected from slaughter!
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Send an automated email message to your representative if you HR 503. Click Here!
Contact your U.S. representativeabout voting YES on the anti horse slaughter bill. Learn more about the Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009, H.R. 503.) GO!
Also, contact your representative about voting YES to stop cruel horse transporting in the US (H.R. 305, the Horse Transportation Safety Act). Help put an end to the cruel transports of horses on double decked trailers. Learn more, GO!
Kill buyers use these too small trailers to haul horses long distances to slaughter.
TAKE MORE ACTION!
Your Representative and the House leaders can be reached through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Email this PDF Document with FOIA images to your friends.Print it and take it with you. (Viewer discretion advised) Please tell your friends to do the same. Save America's Horses!
'ABOUT HR 503: To amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption, and for other purposes.'
Bill # H.R.503
Original Sponsor: Janice Schakowsky (D-IL 9th)
About This Legislation:
1/17/2007--Introduced. Amends the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to detain for examination, testing, or the taking of evidence: (1) any horse at any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction which is sore or which the Secretary has probable cause to believe is sore; and (2) any horse or other equine which the Secretary has probable cause to believe is being shipped, transported, moved, delivered, received, possessed, purchased, sold, or donated in violation of such prohibition. Read Bill>>
Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2009
Bill # H.R.305
Original Sponsor: Mark Kirk (R-IL 10th)
About This Legislation:
Introduced by Representative Mark Steven Kirk (R-IL) and Representative Stephen Cohen (D-TN) the Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2009 prohibits a person from transporting a horse in interstate commerce in a motor vehicle containing two or more levels stacked on top of one another. Sets forth civil penalties for persons who knowingly violate such prohibition. Read Bill>>
Landrieu-Ensign Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009
Bill # S.727
Original Sponsor: Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
About This Legislation: (Supports 503)
A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit certain conduct relating to the use of horses for human consumption. Read Bill >>
HR 1018: This bill supports opposition to changes made to the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act during the 108th Congress that will require federally protected wild horses 10 years of age and older or not adopted after three tries to be sold without restriction. The Burns amendment has only one outcome – slaughter.
HR 1018 restores our American Mustang Act sponsored by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall and Representative Raul Grijalva.
Horse slaughter is also in no sense humane euthanasia. That much has been established by documents recently released in response to a FOIA request. The captive bolt gun used in the U.S. slaughterhouses did not typically render horses senseless before slaughter. The slaughter houses never bothered to restrain the horses' heads or use only trained personnel to operate the gun.
As John Holland has explained, "In its 2000 report on methods of Euthanasia, the AVMA stated that the captive bolt gun should not be used on equines unless head restraint could be assured. This is because of the relatively narrow forehead of equines, their head shyness and the fact that the brain is set back further than in cattle for which the gun is intended. It is difficult for an operator to assure proper placement of the gun.
"No slaughter house ever found a practical way to restrain the heads of the horses, so by the AVMA's very definition, the process was not acceptable. The result was a very large number of ineffective stuns. These misplaced blows undoubtedly caused severe pain until a stunning or fatal blow was delivered. "
Imagine the pain and terror experienced by horses as bolts were repeatedly fired at their heads many times by untrained operators. Many times horses were still conscious when they were then hoisted upside down for slaughter.
Of course, this does not even include the fear and suffering endured by horses as they are transported to slaughter. Most are stuffed into double decked trailers where they cannot raise their heads. They are transported long distances without food or water for more than 24 hours. Many are trampled, injured and even killed during transport. The USDA has issued a regulation barring use of double decked trailers, but with a wink and a nod at the kill buyers transporting horses to slaughter. 9 CFR 88.3 The USDA has said it does not have the resources to enforce the regulations. As a result, kill buyers still use double decked trailers to haul horses to slaughter.
Photo Credit Animals-Angels
Read investigation by Angels Animals about the transport of horses to slaughter. GO!
Photo Credit Animals-Angels
Horse Slaughter: The Facts
From Animal-Angels
Every year, approximately 100.000 American horses are slaughtered for human consumption. They are transported across the border to large slaughter facilities in Mexico and Canada and their meat is exported to Italy, Belgium, France and Japan.
Where do these horses come from? They come from race tracks, farms, riding academies or private owners. Horses, too slow to win a race. Horses who have worked on a farm and now have become too old or too weak. Sick and injured horses or horses who, for whatever reason, have become “unwanted”. They are sold at auctions all over the country where they spend hours and sometimes days in overcrowded pens, often without access to food and water. Often, aggressive horses or stallions are not separated from the others which results in severe injuries.
They are transported for up to 28 hours, without food, water and rest, to their final destination.
Upon their arrival at the slaughterhouse, many of them are already “down”, unable to rise, due to exhaustion, dehydration or injuries. These horses are supposed to be euthanized on the truck. However, they are sometimes dragged into the slaughter facility with a cable winch. (Continued)
Supporters of Horse Slaughter Claimed that Abuse and Neglect would Rise if Horse Slaughter Stopped...
In a recent study to quantify the combined impact of the plant closings, the economic downturn and higher grain and hay prices in the past year.
When asked to explain the unexpected results, John Holland, senior analyst for AAHS (Americans Against Horse Slaughter) said "A significant number of media stories had assured us that abuse and neglect had increased dramatically following the closing of the Texas horse slaughter plants in February of 2007 and the Illinois plant in September. What we see is that this clearly never happened."
Holland went on to say that the number of equine rescues nationwide has increased dramatically in recent years. "It appears" he concluded, "that the rescues were able to take in the horses pushed out of their homes by these adverse economic conditions." CONTINUED
Read this study of equine slaughter and abuse patterns following the closing of slaughter plants in the US. READ THIS!
Read about Horses being slaughter for food in Britain: GO!
"Why healthy foals are being killed across Britain...to end up as dog food and on French dinner plates"
By Zoe Brennan
30th January 2009
"Racing For Time"
“Racing For Time”, written and produced by Debra Lopez, features Ronnie Nyles, 3 time WAMI Award winning vocalist and the 2008 recipient of the Adult/ Contemporary Artist of the year and The Peoples Choice award has toured around the globe and throughout the Midwest, with her Etheridge-like voice and a performing style all her own.
Inspired by her love for thoroughbreds and most recently by the late great Barbaro, Lopez along with Lori Charney launched Animal Fairy Charities, Inc. a non profit organization which focuses on the overall safety and welfare for all animals with a strong emphasis on equines.
After learning about the brutal practice of American horses being slaughtered for human consumption overseas, Lopez (WAMI Nominee Songwriter/Producer of the Year) continues her campaign in quest of raising public awareness for the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act with “Racing For Time”.
“Racing For Time”, tells the sad story of a racehorse who loses his best friend to slaughter only because he couldn't run fast enough to win races. He quickly realized with fear that he also may be running for his life.
(Music Published with express Permission by Ronnie Nyles and Deb Lopez) All rights Reserved
Teaser for Saving America's Horses
This teaser features the voice of former Mayor Paula Bacon of Kaufman, Texas and the song, "Racing for Time" by Debra Lopez. It's a teaser for the radio show currently airing on WFL Endangered Stream Live.
To all those who have been working in effort to save the horses, thank you. Special thanks to Paula Bacon, John Holland, Laura Allen, Nena Winand, Julie Caramante, Shelley Abrams, Sonja Meadows, Vicki Tobin, Deb Lopez, Ronnie Nyles and everyone else who's contributed to this cause segment on behalf of the horses. It's an honor to work together with you for the horses.
-Katia Louise
TALK RADIO FOR ANIMAL PROTECTION
MISSION: ALL HORSES NEED TO BE PROTECTED FROM SLAUGHTER
"Saving America's Horses"
with
Paula Bacon - John Holland
Nena Winand - Laura Allen
Help Put an End to the Suffering and the Corruption
America's horses are traveling through Texas to Mexico in heat indexes as high as 116 degrees. They are suffering horribly only to be brutally slaughtered.
Please take a minute right now to call ans ask your U.S. Representative to cosponsor and support HR 503 and our U.S. Senators to cosponsor and support S 727. If your U.S. legislators are already cosponsors then please thank them and ask them to help get the bills through committee and on to the floor for a vote.
Your 30-second phone calls urging your legislators to “please support H.R. 503 and S. 727 to protect horses from slaughter” are critical.
Call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your two US Senators and US Representative’s offices.
Just ask them to cosponsor and vote yes for (Rep HR 503 and Senator S 727).
Thank you!
"Horse Harvesting" by John Holland
FACTS ABOUT HORSE SLAUGHTER
Horse slaughter is also not a means of euthanizing "unwanted horses". This is a myth perpetuated by the horse slaughter industry. Horse slaughter is a multi million dollar a year business that is driven by a demand for horse meat. Kill buyers buy horses at auction for slaughter, and the USDA has said over 92% of American horses slaughtered, are healthy, not old, sick, injured, or neglected. These horses were not unwanted; they were simply sold at auction, and their owners had no control over who purchased them. Without the kill buyers who skulk around horse auctions, looking for the best potential horse meat, most of these horses would be purchased by others or end up in rescues or sanctuaries.
As John Holland, a free lance writer and researcher on horse slaughter, has explained, "Kill buyers do not go around the country like dog catchers gathering ‘unwanted horses' as a public service."
As Americans Against Horse Slaughter points out, "Just over 100,000 horses were slaughtered in the U.S. in 2006. If slaughter were no longer an option and these horses were rendered or buried instead, it would represent a small increase in the number of horse being disposed of in this manner - an increase that the current infrastructure can certainly sustain. Humane euthanasia and carcass disposal is highly affordable and widely available. The average cost of having a horse humanely euthanized and safely disposing of the animal's carcass is approximately $225, while the average monthly cost of keeping a horse is approximately $200."
Also, the horse slaughter industry actually encourages the over breeding of horses. Because owners can make money from the brutal slaughter of their horses, they have an incentive to over breed. As Paul Sorvino put it, "37% of those horses are going to be slaughtered because they couldn't run fast enough....So, it's run for your life." If the slaughter of horses for human consumption is illegal, there is no reward for over breeding.
Sadly, pro-slaughter groups have disseminated disinformation in the media to convince the public that without horse slaughter, there will be large numbers of abandoned, abused and neglected horses. (Even if that were true, it is not clear how substituting one form of cruelty for another is somehow a solution.)
A study released last year showed a decrease in horse abuse and neglect cases following closure of the last U.S. horse slaughter house in 2007. Any abandoned or neglected horses are not a result of a lack of horse slaughter houses. READ STUDY!
The question always asked is if horse slaughter for human consumption is illegal, what will we do with the unwanted horses? As if a multi-million dollar a year industry is driven by unwanted horses. Horse slaughter is driven by a demand for horse meat. Typically, kill buyers buy horses at auction for slaughter. The kill buyers are not looking for the unwanted or abused or neglected horses. They are looking for healthy horses that can be slaughtered for horsemeat, a delicacy in parts of Europe and Asia. The USDA has said over 92% of American horses slaughtered are healthy.
Send a personal letter to your representatives with photos(pdf)
Send a personal letter to your representatives with photos(word doc)
Send a thank you letter to your representative for co-sponsoring(pdf)
Send a thank you letter to your representative for co-sponsoring(word doc)
Contact Information for your Representatives
Send an automated email message to tell your respresentative to support HR 503. Click Here!
SIGN ONLINE PETITION!For the support and cosponsorship of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, bill H.R.503/S.311, H.R.305 and bill H.R.6598, the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act.SIGN NOW!
Contact yourU.S. representative and urge him or her to vote YES on the anti horse slaughter bill. Learn more about the Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009, H.B. 503.)GO!
Also, tell your representative to vote YES to stop cruel horse transporting in the US (H.R. 305, the Horse Transportation Safety Act). This will put an end to the cruel transports of horses on double decked trailers. Learn more! GO!
URGENT!
A bill in the Tennessee legislature has been amended to promote horse slaughter in the state. Don’t let this bill pass. For more information and how to contact Tennessee legislators and Gov. Phil Bredesen about this bill
Update May 16: The pro-horse slaughter bill, H.B. 1428 (S.B. 1898 in the Tennessee Senate) passed the Agriculture Committee by a voice vote with only Rep. John M. Windle recording a no vote.
Email Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesenphil.bredesen@state.tn.us and tell him you oppose horse slaughter and H.B. 1428/S.B. 1898. Send him a link to this article.
Don't let this bill pass. Horse slaughter houses don't bring revenue or jobs. Instead, they bring horrific odors of dying and dead horses, blood literally running down the streets and clogging drains, illegally dumped or discharged waste, burdens on wastewater treatment and sewage systems, financial loss, and terrible animal cruelty. It is simply a waste of taxpayer dollars for a state agency to spend time issuing rules and making concessions for this sleazy practice as contemplated by this bill particularly when it is not even legal. It is akin to supporting dog fighting rings. Go here for more about the effect of horse slaughter houses on communities.
More Action Needed!
4/3/09 Montana Governor Brian D. Schweitzer has VETOED House Bill 418, a pro-horse slaughter bill but has actually proposed some amendments so the fight is not over . Keep up your letters, faxes, emails and calls! GO
NEWS
Animal Law Coalition and Animals Angels have called on the Government Accountability Office to investigate gross violations of law in connection with the slaughter of horses. Representatives, senators & co sponsors are urged to issue letters of support to the Comptroller General for the GAO investigation in support of support HR503/SB727, a bill that would ban the slaughter of horses. more>>
"Most of the horse photos shown in this video were supplied by equine rescuers."
Please support H.R.503
The song and video were created by John Holland and Bubba Blues.
Both are titled "American Horse"
Senate Bill (S. 727) to Ban Horse Slaughter Introduced
Contact Your Senators Today!
Great news! A bill to ban horse slaughter has been introduced in the United States Senate by Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Senator John Ensign (R-NV). The Landrieu-Ensign "Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act" (S. 727) will end the slaughter of American horses here and abroad. Please take a moment to contact your Senators and ask them to cosponsor this vital legislation.
Paula Bacon, Americans Against Horse Slaughter. She was mayor of Kaufman, TX 2003-07 where Belgian owned Dallas Crown operated for almost 30 years until the city finally closed them in 2006 for various violations.
"Our job today is to amass and activate people into calling, emailing and faxing the U.S. Congress—until this is done. Perhaps mark your calendars and every Tuesday or alternate day on Wednesday, call, email, fax, but calling is very because we want to keep staff busy with us and the issue on peoples’ minds."
- Paula Bacon
John Holland, Senior Analyst Americans Against Horse Slaughter. He is also a world renowned author on the subject of horse slaughter.
"Despite the closing of all domestic horse slaughter plants, American horses continue to be barbarically slaughtered in Canada and Mexico. These exports have rapidly grown to match the highest levels of slaughter in over ten year."
- John Holland
Laura Allen, Animal Law Coalition. She is regarded as one of the nation's most active and astute Animal Law Attorney's.
"Documents never before made public reveal the USDA was aware of extreme cruelty during horse slaughter at facilities in the U.S. The documents dispute claims horse slaughter in the U.S. was in any sense humane and instead reveal a brutal, terrifying ordeal that should be permanently banned."
About Americans Against Horse Slaughter: Americans Against Horse Slaughter is a non funded, grassroots movement comprised of supporters of a federal ban on the slaughter of American horses for human consumption. It is the intention of Amercians Against Horse Slaughter to spread the word about horse slaughter and the pending legislation.
About Animal Law Coalition: Animal Law Coalition works to stop animal cruelty and suffering through legislation, administrative agency action, and litigation. ALC offers legal analysis of the difficult and controversial issues relating to animals. Join ALC and together we can take action for animals nationally and in your state and community.
Animals' Angels is a 501 (c)(3) non profit organization incorporated in Maryland with fulltime investigators working in the United States and Canada. Our focus is on improving conditions for farm animals. We work primarily in the field, trailing livestock trucks on highways, visiting markets, collecting stations and slaughterhouses. We seek to cooperate with auction managers, transport companies and other authorities, including the police, veterinarians and the United States Department of Agriculture.
Pro-Slaughter Resolutions Piling Up in State Legislatures
South Dakota, S.C.R. 2is a resolution calling for the defeat of H.R. 503, and has already passed the state House by a vote of 63-1. A separate, second bill, S.B. 114, asks the South Dakota state legislature to spend $100,000 on a study "of the feasibility, viability, and desirability of establishing and operating an equine processing facility in the state.
Minnesota HF 797/SF 755 is a bill that if it becomes law, would define horses as livestock and raising, breeding, training and boarding horses as agricultural activities.
Kansas, HCR 5004 is a resolution calling for the defeat of H.R. 503, and has been approved by a House legislative committee.
Arkansas H.C.R. 1004, is a resolution calling for the defeat of H.R. 503 and also calls for incentives and support for opening of horse slaughter houses nationally and in the state.
Tennessee Rep. Frank S. Niceley has proposed a bill, H.B. 1361, that would amend state law to allow the packaging and sale of horsemeat without complying with the usual labeling and packaging requirements.
Georgia H.R. 583 is a resolution calling for the defeat of H.R. 503 and was introduced on March 11, 2009 by House Agriculture Committee members Reps.
By Laura Allen, with permission
N.D. Horse Slaughter Bill
Don't be duped by the misinformation of a desperate industry looking for free tax dollars to line the pockets of its foreign investors.
H.B. 1496 which proposes to spend at least $100,000 of taxpayers' dollars to find a way to open a horse slaughter facility in North Dakota, is set for hearing before the House Agriculture committee on Friday, Feb. 6
Urge the House Agriculture Committee members and to vote NO on H.B. 1496!Contact or Call 701-328-2916 or send a fax to 701-328-3615 or Email them at lcouncil@nd.gov
While the rest of the United States is struggling economically, especially state and local governments, hit hard by what has been called the worst recession since the Great Depression, money seems to be overflowing the coffers of North Dakota.
State Rep. Rod Froelich and Sen. Joe Miller propose that the state's Department of Commerce spend $100,000 studying the feasibility of opening an "equine processing facility" aka horse slaughter house in that state. Their proposal is contained in a bill, H.B. 1496, which they are asking the state legislature to approve.
The bill explains that the costly study would involve examining the markets for horse meat and other products from horses, the applicable laws, and available funding.
These legislators are surely simply stand ins for the horse slaughter industry. This industry and its highly paid lobbyists are actually trying to convince North Dakota citizens that this is something they should do to eliminate unwanted horses and bring jobs to their state.
In fact, this industry wants North Dakota taxpayers to subsidize its business, provide the industry with a taxpayer subsidized horse slaughter house. Why else study it at taxpayer expense?
North Dakota will not benefit from opening a horse slaughter house. Even when there were horse slaughter houses in the U.S., they were part of a horse meat industry that was only 0.001% of the U.S. meat industry. The U.S. horse slaughterhouses were all foreign-owned. They paid little in income taxes. One facility paid $5 in federal taxes on $12 million in sales. These slaughter houses paid no export taxes, meaning the U.S. government effectively subsidized the sale of horse meat to consumers generally in Asia and Europe.
A study is not necessary to tell the people of North Dakota that horse meat is not consumed in the U.S. It is not used in the manufacture of pet food, and very few zoos use horse meat at all. Horse meat is an expensive delicacy served in fine restaurants primarily in parts of Asia and Europe.
When there were horse slaughter houses in the U.S., the communities where they were located found they operated in violation of environmental and other laws, dumping waste illegally, for example.
There is no benefit here to the people of North Dakota, economic or otherwise.
Come on, North Dakota taxpayers, oppose this bill! You need your money especially in this tough economic climate; you certainly don't need to spend it on subsidies for a sleazy business that cannot even operate legally in the U.S. at this time.
OFF TO THE RACE TRACK
THEN ON TO SLAUGHTER
WHAT THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW
Help Stop This!
The HSUS uncovers the cruelty of American horses exported to Mexico for slaughter. Watch this shocking new footage and urge your Senators to support the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.
Saving America's Horses centers on the Hidden Cruelty of Horse Slaughter and the Fight for Federal Support to Make it Stop.
Get the facts you need to know about the continuing sordid practice of horse slaughter as currently sustained by the United States.
Guests include Paula Bacon representing Americans Against Horse Slaughter and as former Mayor of Kaufman TX; renown author on the issue of horse slaughter, John Holland; senior analyst for Americans Against Horse Slaughter; Animal Law Attorney, Laura Allen of the Animal Law Coalition and Nena Winand DVM, PHD representing Veterinarians for Equine Welfare.
This teaser features the voice of former Mayor Paula Bacon of Kaufman, Texas and the song, "Racing for Time" by Debra Lopez. It's a teaser for the radio show currently airing on WFL Endangered Stream Live.
State legislators have been introducing pro horse slaughter resolutions on behalf of foreign investors anxious to defeat H.R. 503.
H.R. 503, which is pending in Congress would stop them from using American horses for horsemeat served as a delicacy in fine restaurants primarily in parts of Asia, Europe and South America.
These resolutions are worded almost identically.
The resolutions proclaim that there is an increase in "unwanted" or "unusable" horses, as many as 100,000 or more annually, because of the closing of U.S. horse slaughter facilities in 2007.
They claim the closing of U.S. slaughter houses in 2007 had "significant economic impact on the...equine industry". These resolutions call for "processing" or "harvesting" horses, euphemisms for "slaughter", which they describe as "humane". They claim slaughter can be managed through inspections and regulations.
These resolutions, if approved by the state legislatures, would be sent to Congress, as the state's position that H.R. 503 should be defeated.
The USDA says 90% of horses are healthy when they begin their horrific journey to the slaughterhouse. These horses are shipped in cramped, overcrowded transports to the slaughterhouse. They often have no food or water for over 24 hours. In the summer they endure extremely hot temperatures during these transports.
Once at the slaughterhouse, the horses are typically shot in the head. They are then hung by their back legs upside down, many times while they are conscious.
In testimony before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection on July 25, 2006, Christopher J. Heyde, Deputy Legislative Director for Society for Animal Protective Legislation (SAPL) urged lawmakers to pass the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, H.R. 503. (The bill did not become law in that Congressional session and has the same number, H.R. 503, in this session.) Heyde pointed out the numerous polls showing most Americans support an end to horse slaughter for human consumption.
Heyde described the horrific conditions for horses during transport and when they are at the slaughter houses. He testified, "The horses end up at the slaughterhouse in a variety of ways, all unlucky.
Sometimes they are sent by individuals or groups no longer able or willing to care for them. Sometimes they are retired or injured racehorses, riding school or show horses, federally protected wild horses, foals born as a by-product of the Premarin industry, or stolen horses.
"The majority is not actively sold to slaughter by their owners, but instead arrive at the slaughterhouse via livestock auction, often sold by owners unaware of their ultimate fate. Those purchased at auctions by individuals known as "killer buyers" may then be shipped on trailers for as long as 28 hours without water, food or rest".
Heyde described for the Subcommittee his visit to a slaughterhouse, "When I visited a slaughterhouse, there was a double-deck trailer fully loaded with horses from Canada located at the rear of the nondescript facility. The horses filled both rows and were unable to stand normally, forced to keep their heads low. Despite the fact that several of the horses I could see had cuts and blood trailing from their mouths and noses, all looked otherwise healthy and fairly young.... Workers poked some of them with long fiberglass rods through holes on the side of the trailer. The horses, typically very sensitive animals, slid and fell down the ramp, only to be whipped by another worker's rod. All exhibited "flight" behavior, pacing in prance-like movements with their ears pinned back against their heads and their eyes bulging. (continued)
Read the July 25, 2006 testimony of Christopher J. Heyde, Deputy Legislative Director for Animal Welfare Institute, before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.
Unprecedented Evidence that Horse Slaughter is Inhumane
Documents never before made public reveal the USDA was aware of extreme cruelty during horse slaughter at facilities in the U.S. The documents dispute claims horse slaughter in the U.S. was in any sense humane and instead reveal a brutal, terrifying ordeal that should be permanently banned.
Ithaca, New York - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released a 906-page document revealing for the first time the alarming cruelty that takes place during horse slaughter in the U.S. The documents included almost nine hundred photographs. Information was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request submitted 3 years ago by equine cruelty investigator Julie Caramante. Animals Angels assisted Caramante in obtaining the documents, and they are now working with Animal Law Coalition to assess and disseminate the information.
"I've been an equine cruelty investigator for a number of years," said Caramante, "and I've witnessed many incidents of animal cruelty but nothing could prepare me for these images."
The photographs document significant injuries to horses at the slaughter house. Injuries included conscious dismemberment, open fractures, blinding, and battered faces. It appears some horses were left to bleed out. Other injuries indicated long term abuse and neglect.
"The pain and terror these horses had endured is criminal," said Caramante.
Contact your U.S. representative and urge him or her to vote YES on the anti horse slaughter bill. Learn more about the Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009, H.B. 503.) GO!
Also, tell your representative to vote YES to stop cruel horse transporting in the US (H.R. 305, the Horse Transportation Safety Act). This will put an end to the cruel transports of horses on double decked trailers. Learn more, GO!
Kill buyers use these too small trailers to haul horses long distances to slaughter.
TAKE MORE ACTION!
Send an automated email message to tell your respresentative to support HR 503.Click Here!
Call your Representative and the House leaders through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Contact Speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi GO!
Email the House Majority Leader, Rep. Steny HoyerGO!
Contact House Republican leader, Rep. John Boehner GO!
Contact House Majority Whip, Rep. James E. ClyburnGO!
Email this PDF Document with FOIA imagesto your friends. Print it and take it with you. (Viewer discretion advised) Please tell your friends to do the same. Save America's Horses!
RACE HORSES
Findings: Congressional Hearings
Injuries and fatalities in racing horses are clearly on the rise.
Susan M. Stover, DVM, PhD, Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, Professor, JD Wheat Veterinary Orthopedic Research Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, testified, "Musculoskeletal injuries are the greatest cause of racehorse death and attrition."
Dr. Stover explained "many catastrophic, fatal musculoskeletal injuries" result from pre-existing, less severe injuries that occur from "repetitive, overuse". In other words, horses continue to train and race despite injuries or damage which may be untreated or does not heal sufficiently. The result is further injury and damage, many times catastrophic or fatal. (more)
THE DARK SIDE: HORSE RACING
Allie Conrad, Executive Director for CANTER Mid Atlantic, one of many Non-Profit racehorse re-homing agencies in this country, testified, "[W]e are here to talk about the dark side, the people who do not care, the people ruining what used to be the Sport of Kings. The people who are running their horses on injected joints to hide fractures, the people using claiming races to dump their crippled horses. The people who send their hard-working racehorses off to the kill pens on sore and broken bodies, collecting a paltry $300, rather than spending that small amount to give that same horse a more dignified, peaceful ending.
"37% of those horses are going to be slaughtered because they couldn't run fast enough....So, it's run for your life." Actor Paul Sorvino
Those involved in the business of horse racing are always looking for pedigrees that produce smart, fast runners. Horse slaughter makes it economical for owners to over breed horses to try to produce faster, better horses for racing. Because owners can make money from the brutal slaughter of their horses, they have an incentive to over breed.
Email this PDF Document with FOIA images to your friends. Print it and take it with you. Please tell your friends to do the same. Save America's Horses!
Those who promote the brutal transport and killing of our horses to export their flesh to Europe will tell you: 1) The horses taken to slaughter are unwanted and not worth saving.
2) The horses taken to slaughter are old and ill. When Karen found Sophie on a feedlot two years ago, hours away from being transported to a slaughterhouse, we began to learn firsthand the deception of these statements. Although we will never know why Sophie was thrown away, we feel it was most likely because this thoroughbred just couldn't run fast enough... What we are sure about is that she was deserving of a chance at a second career and not of the fate she nearly met - no horse deserves that fate. The first photo shows Sophie days after being removed from the feedlot, with her auction tag still on her hip. The current photo shows a well-cared for riding horse, flourishing two years later. The pictures tell Sophie’s story….a second chance which is denied too many horses for false reasons.
Sophie was not ill, nor was she old when we saved her. She was three. And not worth saving? Compare the pictures and decide for yourself. Please fight for our horses by contacting your representatives to ban this inhumane, greed motivated, deceitful industry.
U.S. House Passes Bill to Save Wild Horses & Burros!
Update July 17: After some debate on the floor, the U.S. House of Repesentatives voted to pass H.R. 1018, Restoring Our American Mustangs Act or R.O.A.M., which would restore protections for wild horses and burros lost in 2004 under the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971.
The vote was 239-185.
This bill would require the wild horses and burros have the same amount of range land that they had in 1971 when the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act became law. H.R. 1018would also implement tracking and sterilization programs and also to improve their health and provide more opportunites for adoption. No wild horses and burros could be sent to slaughter. No healthy wild horse or burro could be killed. (learn more)
Actual Roll Call Vote:
Additional Photo Credits: FOIA: Kaufman Zoning & Animals-Angels; American's Against Horse Slaughter, Animal Law Coalition, Animal Fairy Charities and HSUS
While the rest of the United States is struggling economically, especially state and local governments, hit hard by what has been called the worst recession since the Great Depression, money seems to be overflowing the coffers of North Dakota. 
These legislators are surely simply stand ins for the horse slaughter industry. This industry and its highly paid lobbyists are actually trying to convince North Dakota citizens that this is something they should do to eliminate unwanted horses and bring jobs to their state. 
