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Slaughterhouses in Operation Did you know that until this past spring (2007) two Texas slaughterhouses, Bel-Tex in Fort Worth and Dallas Crown, in Kaufman were slaughtering horses illegally and have since 1949? Not until 2001, did someone complain that these two slaughterhouses have been violating the law for 45 years. New Congress Begins with New Opportunities
to Help Horses
Legislators Must Act Quickly on Reintroduced Bills January 17, 2007
Dear Humanitarian:
American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act Reintroduced
Following tremendous momentum on the movement to ban horse slaughter achieved in the House last session, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (AHSPA) has been reintroduced in both chambers of the new 110th Congress.
Giving the House a chance to renew its support for the only legislation that will ban all horse slaughter for human consumption in the United States and the transport of horses abroad to meet the same fate, Representative Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Representative Ed Whitfield (R-KY), Representative Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Representative John Spratt (D-SC) have again introduced the bill as H.R. 503. Additionally, Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Senator and veterinarian John Ensign (R-NV) have reintroduced the AHSPA in the Senate (the bill number will be posted on the SAPL website when it becomes available), with the support of many of their colleagues from both parties. Last summer, the House approved the AHSPA overwhelmingly, but the session ended before the Senate could vote on the measure. The AHSPA sponsors have worked tirelessly toward the bill's enactment and are moving quickly to ensure it receives a vote as soon as possible. The overwhelming majority of Members of Congress have consistently demonstrated strong, bipartisan support for putting an end to the cruel horse slaughter industry in our country. In fact, legislators have voted five times on measures to end the slaughter of wild and domestic horses.
Just last year, over 100,000 American horses were killed in the three remaining foreign-owned US slaughterhouses and shipped abroad to Europe and Japan for human consumption. Every week Congress fails to act on this important bill means that thousands of American horses will continue to suffer terribly.
Chairman of House Natural Resources Committee Steps up for Wild Horses
In addition, we are pushing for a vote on a bill to stop the commercial exploitation and slaughter of wild horses. House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rahall and Representative Whitfield have reintroduced H.R. 249 – first considered in the last session – to repeal the 2004 “Burns rider” and restore the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act to its original language.
The American public and over 500 organizations from the humane community, a majority of horse industry organizations and veterinarians all back support our effort to end to the slaughter of America’s horses. We will continue to fight for horses until they are all protected.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Please call, fax or email your Representative and both Senators today, urging their co-sponsorship of the AHSPA (H.R. 503/Senate bill number to be announced soon). Ask your Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 249 at the same time.
To find your legislators, please visit www.compassionindex.org. For facts and additional information on both bills to include in your calls and letters, please visit www.saplonline.org/horses.htm.
Additionally, please share this eAlert with family, friends and co-workers, and encourage them to contact their Representatives, too. As always, thank you very much for your help!
Sincerely,
Cathy Liss
Legislative Director
Please urge your Representatives to cosponsor these bills. (Find a Senator www.capitol.state.tx.us/fyi/fyi.htm, find a Representative www.house.gov/writerep/). H.R. 503 – The Purpose of the Act
Cavel has now opened a new slaughter plant in Canada!! About Cavel International – Cavel Int’l is a subsidiary of the Belgian company Velda Group, burned down in 2002 and in spite of the strong nationwide opposition to the reopening of this slaughterhouse, as of June 9th, 2004 its doors opened for business. Their goal is to slaughter 100 horses a day. The bill to ban horse slaughter in Illinois sponsored by Rep. Bob Molaro (D-Chicago) failed after Cavel lobbyists successfully persuaded Representatives that were supporting the bill to back out at the last minute and vote for the reopening of the Cavel slaughterhouse. I personally wonder how many thousands of dollars it took to convince those Representatives to betray the wishes of the people and to betray our horses. (Information taken from www.habitatforhorses.org/nationalissues/cavel.html) Has Cavel Int’l paved the road for this one to open next? Central Nebraska Packing North Platte NE 1 Who is betraying the horses? AQHA is pro slaughter! “AQHA is not just a breed registry; it’s an organization that connects people with American Quarter Horses so they can build a lifestyle around their horses. Everyone’s American Quarter Horse lifestyle is different because of the activities of disciplines in which they participate with their horse. Those lifestyles and the diverse abilities of the American Quarter Horse are what America’s Horse highlight…” When the AQHA speaks of “everyone’s lifestyle as being different because of the activities and disciplines in which they participate” does this also include horse slaughter? A question asked by Lydia F. Gray, DVM Executive Director for Hooved Animal Humane Society, and a question we should all ask ourselves. Other groups supporting horse slaughter American Horse Council - ACH AAEP American Veterinary Medical Association American Quarter Horse Association More letters for the site: Under www.kaufmanzoning.net/horsemeat/RoanokeTimes08192004.htm Under www.kaugmanzoning.net/horsemeat/AugustaFreePress08312004.htm | |
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