Archive: Equines

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) today praised the South Dakota Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee’s rejection of S.B. 170, a bill that would have pumped up to $1 million of state funds into the construction of a horse slaughter facility. AWI submitted testimony opposing the legislation, urging legislators to consider the environmental, fiscal and social impacts the establishment of a horse slaughtering facility would have on the state.

The organization also encouraged members of the public to state their opinion about this harmful legislation. A resulting flood of calls and emails into the State Capitol of Pierre from concerned citizens across the country likely influenced the bill’s demise. South Dakotans voiced their opposition, too; some residents traveled in sub-zero temperatures to testify before the committee in opposition to the bill.

“In light of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (AHSPA), a hugely popular bill to ban horse slaughter that is currently before the US Congress, it would be fiscally foolhardy for South Dakota to enter into such a venture,” said Chris Heyde, AWI’s deputy director of government and legal affairs. “It would also be completely out of step with American values, which have resulted in the closure of all domestic horse slaughter plants.”

While some members of the committee may have objected to what they perceived as “outside interference” from concerned citizens calling from other states, residents of other states also have a right to care whether South Dakota establishes such a facility, Heyde explained. The overwhelming majority of horses slaughtered at such a plant would have come from other states, so the impact of S.B. 170 would have gone well beyond South Dakota’s state lines.

AWI continues to work with federal legislators to obtain passage of the AHSPA, introduced as S. 311 and H.R. 503 in the US Senate and the US House of Representatives, respectively. The non-partisan bill, which currently has 38 cosponsors in the Senate and 193 cosponsors in the House, will prohibit the domestic slaughter of horses for human consumption, as well as their export for the same purpose.

The Homes for Horses Coalition today launched http://www.homesforhorses.org. The Web site is a resource tool for equine rescue personnel, members of the media, and anyone interested in equine protection efforts.

“We’re excited about the launch of our website and what it offers to the rapidly growing body of equine welfare professionals. Our coalition has a great deal of expertise to share with others interested in real equine welfare, from lobbying Congress to end horse slaughter to providing high-quality care to horses in need. This should be a first point of reference for anyone interested in these issues,” said Liz Ross, federal policy advisor for the Animal Welfare Institute.

Visitors to the site will find information on a broad range of topics from the basics of operating an equine rescue facility to materials on ending the slaughter of American horses for human consumption abroad. The site will list equine welfare organizations that voluntarily comply with standards approved of by The Homes for Horses Coalition.

“Our cumulative expertise puts The Homes for Horses Coalition in a unique position to advocate for equines from a perspective that puts equine welfare above commercial interests. Now, through our Web site we have the opportunity to share our knowledge with a much larger audience,” said Keith Dane, director of equine protection for The Humane Society of the United States.

The Homes for Horses Coalition is dedicated to ending horse slaughter and other forms of equine abuse while promoting growth, collaboration and professionalism in the equine rescue and protection community. Founded in 2007, the coalition will hold its annual conference in Washington, DC on July 22, 2008.

Today, the Illinois House Driver’s Education and Safety Committee unanimously approved (11-0) legislation that will outlaw the use of double deck trailers for the purpose of hauling horses in the State of Illinois. The bill, in response to several tragic and deadly accidents involving horses on double deck trailers, has been placed on the House calendar where it will await time for consideration.

A bill offered by the leading pro-horse slaughter advocate, Representative Jim Sacia, was also to be considered during today’s hearing, but he did not call it up for consideration. His bill is being offered as a vehicle to language that would overturn a ban against horse slaughter overwhelmingly passed by the Illinois General Assembly last year.

“Representative Sacia continues to be out of step with residents of Illinois and the entire country on this widely supported issue,” said Chris Heyde, deputy director of Government and Legal Affairs for the Animal Welfare Institute. “His persistent attacks have nothing to do with animal welfare or reason. He appears to simply have a grudge against horses and their humane treatment.”

It is expected that Representative Sacia will offer his bill next week when the Committee reconvenes. In addition, pro-horse slaughter organizations such as the Farm Bureau are considering an amendment that would allow for the use of double deck trailers should one ever be designed to haul horses. No double deck trailers are currently designed to haul horses for numerous welfare and safety issues. To do so properly they would be too high for use on highways and extremely dangerous because of their height.

AWI encourages everyone to continue checking our website for updates on the Illinois legislation and our campaign to end horse slaughter, based out of Washington, DC. Be sure to bookmark this page.

Following last year’s passage of an Illinois state law banning horse slaughter, the House of the Illinois General Assembly today adopted HB 4162, a bill to ban the use of double-deck cattle trailers to transport horses inside the state. Sponsored in the House by Representatives JoAnn Osmond (R-61st) and Bob Molaro (D-21st), the bill easily passed by a vote of 80-29 and will now move to the Senate for consideration. Although the state’s sole horse slaughter plant closed in 2007, these trailers are still used to move horses through Illinois to be slaughtered elsewhere.

“On behalf of our Illinois supporters and horse lovers around the United States, we commend Representatives Osmond and Molaro and their colleagues in the House for passing this double decker ban,” said Chris Heyde, Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) deputy director of government and legal affairs. “The Illinois General Assembly has taken action to stop the brutal injury and death of horses transported on trailers not designed for them. We look forward to seeing the Senate enact this modest and responsible legislation.”

During today’s floor debate, staunch horse slaughter advocate Representative Jim Sacia railed against the Illinois ban on horse slaughter. Sacia continues to mislead his colleagues in an attempt to overturn the ban, which easily passed the Illinois General Assembly last year. He advocates the reopening of US plants by highlighting how bad the situation is for horses going to Canada and Mexico for slaughter, a fate AWI opposed for years. However, Sacia fails to point out that the industry he is advocating for in the United States is the same industry buying tens of thousands of American horses and shipping them to their plants in Canada and Mexico.

“If Representative Sacia cared about our horses, he would commend the Illinois ban and urge the US Congress to swiftly enact the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act,” Heyde said. “Mr. Sacia is clearly trying to keep a cruel industry alive while couching his disingenuous move as a mark of compassion.”

AWI will continue to advocate for HB 4162 as it moves to the Senate. Be sure to stay up to date on the Illinois legislation, as well as AWI’s national campaign against horse slaughter, by visiting www.awionline.org daily. While you are there, please also sign up for our eAlerts so that you can take action for animals when needed.

A renegade resolution to promote the continued slaughter of American horses for human consumption abroad was defeated at today’s meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). The measure, offered by state Representative David Sigdestad (D-SD), urged the United States Congress to oppose the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, currently pending in Congress. AWI commends those state legislators who stood up in support of humane treatment of horses.

“The scheme was yet another dirty trick brought to you by the horse slaughter industry and its lobbyists. Contrary to their claims, the federal American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act has enormous Congressional and public support, and the current trend at the state level has also been towards the passage of laws that protect horses from slaughter,” said Chris Heyde, deputy director of government and legal affairs for the Animal Welfare Institute.

The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S. 311/H.R. 503), will prohibit the slaughter of American horses here or abroad for human consumption in Europe and Asia where it is often considered a delicacy. The Senate and House versions have 38 and 200 cosponsors, respectively.

Polls show that the majority of Americans support an end to the foreign-driven trade, as do hundreds of horse industry leaders and organizations, humane groups and dozens of celebrities. As a result, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act passed the United States House of Representatives by an overwhelming margin in the 109th Congress and is up for reconsideration again. States are also weighing in.

“While the US Congress is considering a federal ban, California, Texas and Illinois have taken action to send this predatory business packing. South Dakota recently considered the issue when a bill authorizing state funds for the construction of a horse slaughterhouse was stopped in its tracks, yet here we have a legislator from South Dakota, Representative Sigdestad, offering a resolution that flies in the face of legislative trend and public sentiment,” said Heyde. “We must enact the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act immediately to protect America’s horses from being trucked alive across our borders for slaughter abroad, and to further the will of those states that have enacted measures to end this barbaric trade.”

In recent years, more than 100,000 American horses were slaughtered annually at three foreign-owned horse slaughterhouses operating out of Texas and Illinois while tens of thousands more were exported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter there. Last year laws were enacted in Texas and Illinois prohibiting the slaughter, thus shutting down the country’s remaining domestic plants. Nonetheless, the industry continues to haul huge numbers of American horses over the border for slaughter where they may be stabbed in the neck to induce paralysis before slaughter.

“There has been a concerted effort by the misnamed ‘Horse Welfare Coalition,’ mentioned in Representative Sigdestad’s resolution, to mislead legislators and the American public on the gruesome nature of horse slaughter. The fact is that this coalition was founded and is led by the very same foreign-owned companies that were previously slaughtering our horses here and are now trucking them over the border to Canada and Mexico to do the same, only under worse conditions. That the horse slaughter lobby claims to be working in the best interest of American horses by pushing for the defeat of a federal ban on their slaughter is disingenuous,” said Heyde. “We’re just glad that reason ruled the day and the NCSL defeated the resolution.”

On the heels of Eight Belles’ tragic death at the 2008 Kentucky Derby, HBO is exposing an unsavory side of the Thoroughbred racing industry. The network’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” will air a segment on May 12 revealing that thousands of unsuccessful horses are sent to a brutal death in the slaughterhouse every year.

As shown in the program, horses no longer winning on the track are often sold for profit by their owners to slaughterhouse “killer-buyers.” The animals are then transported to the foreign-owned plants across US borders, where they are brutally butchered and sold for human consumption in Europe and Asia. Many of the horses depicted in the HBO segment went from the track to a slaughterhouse in Mexico very quickly.

“It’s disturbing that anyone would sell a horse to slaughter, but to do so the moment a young horse stops earning the owner a big check seems particularly repugnant,” said Chris Heyde, deputy director of government and legal affairs with the Animal Welfare Institute. “This piece further demonstrates the clear need for passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.”

While the last three horse slaughterhouses operating on US soil were closed in 2007 under state laws, more than 100,000 American horses continue to be killed annually at plants located in Canada and Mexico. The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, introduced in the US Congress as H.R. 503 and S. 311, would prohibit the domestic slaughter of horses for human consumption abroad, as well as their export for the same purpose.

“This is a black eye that the Thoroughbred racing world just can’t afford right now,” Heyde said. “We hope the industry will clean up its act.”

AWI encourages everyone to step up calls to their legislators and House and Senate leadership demanding a vote on the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act immediately to stop the slaughterhouses from exporting tens of thousands of American horses to Mexico and Canada.

Despite strong support for a bill banning the use of double deck trailers for hauling horses in Illinois, the legislation died earlier this week in a Senate Committee following a disingenuous lobbying effort by the Illinois Farm Bureau. H.B. 4162 was introduced following the horrific “Wadsworth Crash” of 2007 in which 59 Belgian draft horses were severely or fatally injured after the double-deck trailer they were being transported in was overturned.

It is common knowledge that transporting horses on such vehicles that are actually designed for smaller species like cattle and hogs is not only inhumane but unsafe, given their top-heavy nature. The bill died when the Illinois Farm Bureau insisted on attaching an amendment that would have exempted double-deck “horse” trailers, arguing that a humane double-decker specifically designed for horses might be built in the future.

In truth, no such vehicle could be engineered that would be both comfortable for the horses and safe for transport on US roads and highways; such a vehicle would need to be at least 17′ tall and in reality even higher, would be dangerously top-heavy and would exceed the clearance space in many tunnels and overpasses. Ultimately, since no regulatory definition of a “horse” trailer exists, the amendment would have had the real effect of allowing unscrupulous transporters to still put their horses on a double-decker originally designed for cattle, simply call it a “horse” trailer, and bypass the proposed law.

While the Illinois Farm Bureau attempted to present itself as reasoned and caring, it was clear to those working the inside that the organization had only one objective in this instance:  to defeat any measure that would have led to the more humane transport of horses in Illinois. Often being on the opposite side of basic animal welfare measures, the Illinois Farm Bureau outdid itself this time, and was clearly out of step with the majority. The American Veterinary Medical Association, US Department of Agriculture, Illinois Department of Agriculture, Animal Welfare Institute, and many Illinois horse owners and horse transport companies all support an end to the transport of horses on double-deckers.

“The AWI commends the sponsors of H.B. 4162, Representative JoAnn Osmond, Representative Bob Molaro and Senator John Cullerton for fighting to protect horses from this cruel form of transportation,” said Heyde. “Their commitment to equine welfare is commendable. We look forward to working with them and other compassionate legislators in the future to ban the transport of horses via double-deck trailers in Illinois. The fight is far from over.

The repeated attempts by Illinois-based Cavel International, Inc. to continue slaughtering horses in the face of a state ban on the practice and the will of the people of Illinois were quashed for a final time today, when the Supreme Court of the United States denied the slaughterhouse’s petition for certiorari.

On January 18, 2008, Cavel had appealed the earlier decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which upheld the decision by the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to reaffirm the constitutionality of an Illinois law preventing the slaughter of horses for human consumption.

“We are relieved and elated that the Supreme Court has decided this case does not warrant additional review,” said Tracy Silverman, general counsel for the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI). “We thank the Illinois attorney general’s office for its efforts arguing to uphold the state law preventing the slaughter of horses for human consumption.”

The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503/S. 311), a federal bill to ban horse slaughter in the United States and the transport of horses abroad for the same purpose, is pending in the US Congress. Its enactment is now essential to ensure horses who would have been sent to Cavel are not exported for slaughter in Canada or Mexico.

“While we don’t expect companies such as Cavel to stop trying to manipulate the legal and political systems, we hope other pro-horse slaughter organizations will now work with us to protect America’s horses from this cruel and predatory industry,” said Chris Heyde, AWI’s deputy director of government and legal affairs. “The American public has made clear its desire to close this industry down, and AWI is proud to be leading the charge to pass the urgently needed federal law to ban horse slaughter.”

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and the National Black Farmers Association (NBFA) today launched a national partnership to help American horses in need by finding them homes on farms operated by NBFA members.

The announcement of the “Project Wanted Horse” partnership comes as the US Congress considers the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S. 311/ H.R. 503), working to disprove bill opponents’ arguments that the campaign to end horse slaughter has resulted in a glut of unwanted horses in the United States and that slaughter is therefore necessary.

“One of the horse slaughter industry’s main arguments is that there are no homes for these animals,” said Chris Heyde, deputy director of government and legal affairs for AWI. “The coming together of our national organizations sends a significant message that these horses are valued and wanted.”

“Project Wanted Horse” will ensure that horses rescued by equine protection organizations, from the slaughter pipeline, or from an abusive situation are placed on farms operated by NBFA’s 94,000 members across the country. AWI will oversee the placement of horses with NBFA members. Each placed animal will be accompanied by a legally binding contract, ensuring quality lifetime care and that they will not be resold only to end up on the path to slaughter.

While horse slaughter no longer occurs in the United States, in 2007, more than 100,000 American horses were exported to Canada and Mexico, where they were killed, processed and exported for human consumption in Europe and Asia. Each year, thousands of horses are purchased at auction by killer-buyers, stolen from farms and acquired illegally. Across the border, they are often slaughtered using barbaric practices that are illegal in the United States, such as shooting and stabbing.

“Having seen the recent HBO ‘Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel’ segment on horse slaughtering, I had no choice but to act,” said Dr. John Boyd, NBFA founder and president. “Horse slaughter, in all circumstances, is a violent, brutal process. Horses play an important role in our members’ lives, not just because of their role on the farm, but because they are often part of our families. By joining with the Animal Welfare Institute, we hope to end the transportation and brutal killing of these animals for human consumption.”

The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S. 311/ H.R. 503), pending in both chambers of Congress, would outlaw the transportation of horses either domestically or internationally for slaughter. The legislation is sponsored by Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and John Ensign (R-NV), as well as Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), John Spratt (D-SC), Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Ed Whitfield (R-KY). S. 311 has 38 cosponsors in the Senate, including Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and Senator John McCain (R-AZ), while H.R. 503 has 204 cosponsors in the House.