Ban on Horse Slaughter One Step Closer to Becoming Law

April 25, 2007

WASHINGTON – In an unyielding campaign to end the slaughter of American horses for human consumption overseas, lawmakers on the Senate Commerce Committee today approved the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S. 311) by a roll call vote of 15 to 7. The NJSPCA applauds the committee and urges Senate leadership to give the bill a full floor vote.

This industry has suffered a number of serious setbacks this year, and today's vote is the latest indicator of public disdain for the industry's purposes and practices."

Today's vote comes at a time when operations of the three foreign-owned equine slaughterhouses in the United States – two in Texas and one in Illinois – have been shut down due to federal court rulings. The number of live American horses being trucked by killer buyers to Mexican and Canadian slaughterhouses has sharply increased in recent weeks, demonstrating the urgent need for this legislation. For the period Jan. 1 through Apr. 14, more than 6,900 horses were shipped to Mexico, a 246 percent increase over the same period last year. Footage obtained by HSUS investigators last winter reveals the brutal slaughter of American horses at a slaughterhouse in Juarez, Mexico.

The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act bans the transport of American horses for slaughter within the U.S. and across the borders to slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada. It was introduced in January by Senators Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.). A companion bill, H.R. 503, was introduced simultaneously by U.S. Representatives Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), John Spratt (D-S.C.), and Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.).

Facts

• According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 100,800 American horses were slaughtered in three foreign-owned slaughter houses in the U.S. in 2006. Another 30,000 were sent to Mexico or Canada for slaughter.

• Because the Congressional defunding of USDA inspections for horse slaughter expires in September, The NJSPCA is calling on Congress to pass the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503 and S. 311) to settle the matter permanently. This legislation will also prohibit the export of live horses to Canada and Mexico for slaughter.

Timeline

• April 18, 2007 – The Illinois House of Representatives approves H.B. 1711 to ban the slaughter of American horses in Illinois for human consumption overseas, by nearly a two-to-one margin, a vote of 75-41.

• March 29, 2007- A federal district court orders the U.S. Department of Agriculture to stop inspecting horsemeat at the Cavel International slaughter plant, effectively closing the last operating horse slaughtering operation in the United States.

• March 21, 2007 – A committee of the Illinois legislature approves legislation to ban horse slaughter by a vote of 8-4.

• March 20, 2007 – The HSUS files a notice of intent to sue the Cavel horse slaughter house in DeKalb, Ill. for dozens of violations of the Clean Water Act.

• January 19, 2007 – U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upholds a 1949 Texas state law barring the sale of horsemeat for human consumption in that state. Appeals from the slaughter houses were rejected on March 5.

• September 7, 2006 – U.S. House of Representatives passes H.R. 503, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, by a vote of 263-146. The 109th Congress adjourns before the Senate can consider the bill.

• February 14, 2006 – The HSUS and other animal welfare groups and residents file suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging the USDA "fee-for-service" rule.

• February 7, 2006 – USDA announces its intention to circumvent the Congressional funding limitation by implementing a "fee-for-service" rule to continue inspections of horsemeat.

• November 10, 2005 – President Bush signs the Agriculture Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2006, including a funding limitation on horsemeat inspections. The horse slaughter provision is scheduled to take effect 120 days later