Legislation Important for the Cause

January 15, 2009 - A large, bipartisan coalition of lawmakers has introduced legislation to stop Mexico and Canada from killing and butchering tens of thousands of healthy American horses, as well as to codify a de facto ban on the slaughter of American horses here in the United States for sale to countries in Europe and Asia. House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) introduced the bill known as the Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, and its passage is a top priority for The Humane Society of the United States and other animal welfare and equine rescue organizations, veterinarians, horse industry groups.

Congress Addressing Horse Slaughter Cruelty in Federal Legislation
To truly end the slaughter of our American horses once and for all, we must pass this very important federal legislation. Each of us can do their part by contacting their representatives asking them to co-sponsor HR 503. To find your representative please go to: Contacting Congress.

Many people believe that horse slaughter has ended because the three US horse slaughter plants have closed. This is not true. The slaughter of American horses continues: our horses are cruelly transported thousands of miles to slaughter plants in Canada and Mexico.

Horse slaughter continues to be an issue about which many Americans know little. It is our job to educate our friends, co-workers, and family about this dirty little secret. It is hard to pass federal legislation when you are going up against big money lobbyists. We learned quite a bit about big money lobbyists during the last session of Congress when the practices of lobbyists like Abramoff were revealed to the public. We are now a better informed public, and Congress seems more concerned about ethics. However, lobbyists still have a lot of power in Washington.

Horses don't have big money lobbyists. They only have us, the people, the voting public. In order to make a difference, in order to be an effective voice for our American horses, we must shout an educated voice to our elected officials.

Believe us when we say, your single voice does make a difference. It echoes far and wide and brings more people to our cause each time you talk about the need to end horse slaughter.

As the next campaigns to end horse slaughter and to re-establish the protection for America's Wild Horses develop, we will post articles, letters and links here. Some will be for educational purposes and for sharing. Others will include a call to action.

Another important bill has been introduced to Congress. HR 305 would prohibit transport of all equines in double decker trailers which were designed for short necked species. HR 305 Against DD Horse Transport Bill Introduced

Please join us. Help us write a respectful and humane legacy for the next generations of our country.

Commercial Transport & Horse Cruelty Issues