Dear Animal Advocates,
Over the past year, we have been sending you alerts regarding the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act and protections for our nation's wild horses and burros. With two major events scheduled in the U.S. Congress this week, it is now more important than ever for your legislators to hear from you. Let's protect our wild equines, and permanently ban horse slaughter in United States of America!
Thank you for taking action for America's animals.
1. Please call your senators and ask them to support S.311
On Wednesday, April 25, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will meet to "mark-up" S. 311, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. The purpose of this meeting is to finalize the language of the Act that will be presented to the full Senate for a vote.
The NJSPCA is asking everyone to please call your senators and ask them to vote in favor of S. 311.
Below are some talking points to assist you when you speak to your senator:
- Last year, three foreign-owned slaughter plants (two in Texas, one in Illinois) killed more than 90,000 horses for human consumption in Europe and Asia. Tens of thousands more of America's horses were exported from the U.S. and slaughtered in other countries.
- Slaughter is NOT humane euthanasia. Horses suffer horribly on the way to and during slaughter.
- Passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act will reduce animal suffering-hence its wide support throughout the equestrian and veterinary world, as well as the humane community.
- Americans overwhelmingly support an end to horse slaughter for human consumption. Polls from Kentucky, Virginia, Texas and Utah show that 82, 74, 72 and 69 percent, respectively, of those questioned oppose the practice. In California, a 1998 ballot initiative (Prop. 6) banning horse slaughter for human consumption passed with 60 percent of the vote
2. Ask your representative to support H.R. 249
This Thursday, April 26, an important equine-related bill is expected to come up for a vote by the U.S. House of Representatives. H.R. 249 would restore the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of America's wild free-roaming horses and burros. Please call your representative today and urge him or her to vote "YES" on H.R. 249.
Below are some talking points to assist you when you speak to your representative:
- Wild and free-roaming horses and burros used to be defended by the Wild and Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971.
- The 2004 "Burns Amendment"-inserted into a must-pass agricultural appropriations bill-undid 33 years of vital protections for America's wild horses. This amendment forced the Bureau of Land Management to allow individuals and corporations to buy these animals and resell them for slaughter.
- H.R. 249 would restore much-needed safeguards for America's wild horses and burros.
This is the moment we've been working toward! Please contact your representative immediately to show your support for H.R. 249. Thank you for your support on this issue.
It is critical that you contact your senators immediately to express your support for S. 311-particularly if they are on the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. If your senator is on the committee, please urge him or her to speak out against any misinformation being presented by groups that want to see horse slaughter continue and to move the bill to the full Senate for a vote right away!
