Dear
Representative/Senator: You may have received a
letter from a group identifying itself as the "Farm Animal Welfare Coalition"
(an unofficial alliance of industry organizations that benefit from the
slaughter of horses) or the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)
attempting to muddle the question of humane treatment for horses. I would
like to set the record straight. The humane
community strongly supports the Ensign-Byrd Horse Slaughter Amendment to the
Agriculture Appropriations bill. No one is more concerned for the long-term
well-being and humane treatment of horses than the community of animal welfare
and humane organizations working to support the Ensign-Byrd Amendment.
Collectively, we represent more than 10 million supporters nationwide, united
strongly in favor of this amendment to bar the use of tax dollars to facilitate
the export-driven horse slaughter industry via USDA inspection and approval of
horse meat and horses for slaughter. This amendment will reduce suffering
experienced by horses and put an end to slaughter practices that most Americans
abhor. The amendment has strong bipartisan support, as demonstrated by the
landslide House vote of 269-158, animal and horse welfare organizations, the
horse racing industry, the horse show industry, and others who rely on and love
horses, such as leaders of the Professional Bull Riders
Association.
Opponents of the amendment are trying to confuse the issue by the extraordinary
and untenable argument that the slaughter industry somehow benefits horses. Here
are the facts:
Myth: This amendment could result in "unregulated shipment of
horses to slaughter" and horses being shipped longer distances to
slaughter.
Fact: Untrue. Without USDA inspectors, American horses will not be
allowed to be shipped to slaughter. The Ensign-Byrd Amendment will terminate any
legal option for sending American horses to slaughter - within the United States
at one of the three, foreign-owned plants or to any foreign slaughterhouse. The
USDA role in approving horse meat or live horse shipment for slaughter is
required by law so the Ensign-Byrd Amendment is a perfect mechanism for halting
that process entirely.
Myth: There has been an increase in the number of abandoned and
unwanted horses in the U.S., and passage of the Ensign-Byrd amendment will lead
to an increase in horse abuse and starvation or neglect cases.
Fact: There
is no evidence to support these claims. According to the USDA, at least 5000
horses have been IMPORTED into one of the three foreign-owned slaughter plants
in the U.S. for slaughter since August 2004. If there were "too many" horses in
the U.S., then there would be no reason to import horses for slaughter.
Furthermore, a ban on horse slaughter will not lead to an increase in horse
abuse and neglect. In California, where horse slaughter was banned in 1998,
there has been no corresponding rise in cruelty and neglect cases. In fact,
horse theft has dropped by 34% since enactment of the ban. Allowing one's horse
to starve is not an option - state anti-cruelty laws prohibit such
neglect.
Myth: Transport guidelines protect horses shipped to slaughter
from harm.
Fact: The 2002 guidelines allow horses to be shipped for more than
24 hours without food, water or rest, with broken limbs, with eyes missing, even
heavily pregnant. Industry pushed to delay the prohibition on use of
double-decker trucks until December 7, 2006. The regulations only cover the
final journey to the slaughterhouse. If horses are loaded and unloaded at
various places as part of their route to slaughter, only the final leg of the
trip is covered. Enforcement of these guidelines will only occur once the truck
reaches the slaughter plant, so these guidelines will have little preventative
effect. These guidelines are wholly inadequate and allow extreme suffering in
transport to continue.
Myth: There is no need for the Ensign-Byrd amendment because
slaughter is humane euthanasia.
Fact: Horse slaughter is a far cry
from humane euthanasia. "Euthanasia" means a gentle, painless death provided in
order to prevent suffering. Horse slaughter is a death fraught with terror,
pain, and suffering. Horses are shipped for more than 24 hours at a time in
crowded double-deck cattle trucks without food, water, or rest. Pregnant mares,
foals, injured horses, and even blind horses must endure the journey. Once they
arrive, their suffering intensifies - undercover footage obtained by The Humane
Society of the United States demonstrates that fully conscious horses are
shackled and hoisted by the rear leg and have their throats slit. Because horses
are skittish by nature, it is particularly difficult to align them correctly and
ensure the captive bolt stun gun renders them unconscious. Unwanted horses
should be humanely euthanized by a licensed veterinarian when no other option
exists, rather than placed on a truck, cruelly transported, and then butchered.
Most horse owners already use humane euthanasia for their older or ill
horses.
Myth: If horses can no longer be slaughtered, their welfare is at
risk due to the lack of adequate equine rescue facilities and uniform standards
for them.
Fact: Standards of care have already been developed and embraced
by the hundreds of equine rescue and retirement facilities that exist throughout
the country that routinely rescue horses from slaughter. All must comply with
state and local animal welfare statutes. In an effort to end the slaughter of
race horses, the New York Racing Association has partnered with other groups to
launch the "Ferdinand Fee" to raise funds for the care of retired race horses,
and to honor Ferdinand, a former Kentucky Derby winner who went to slaughter.
The organizations leading the charge in favor of the Ensign-Byrd Amendment are
the very organizations that are actively working to provide sanctuaries and
solutions for any horses that would otherwise go to slaughter.
Myth: If the
Ensign-Byrd amendment is passed, the federal government will face the financial
burden of care for horses no longer going to slaughter.
Fact: This assertion rests on the
false premise that all horses currently going to slaughter would become the
financial responsibility of the federal government. Horse owners, not the
government, will remain responsible for the care of their horses. Owners who no
longer wish to keep their horses and who cannot sell or place their horses in a
new home will have the option of humane euthanasia. The average cost for
veterinarian-administered euthanasia and carcass disposal - approximately $225,
the cost of one month's care - is simply a part of responsible horse ownership.
Myth: Ending
horse slaughter will cause environmental harm.
Fact: Hundreds of thousands of horses
are safely disposed of annually by means other than slaughter, and the
infrastructure can absorb an increase in numbers. Conversely, the operation of
the horse slaughterhouses has a very real negative environmental impact, with
two out of the three in violation of current environmental law related to the
disposal of blood and other waste materials. Mayor Paula Beacon of Kaufman, TX -
the home of one of the three horse slaughter plants in the U.S. - desperately
states ".Dallas-Crown is operating in violation of a multitude of local laws
pertaining to waste management, air quality and other environmental concerns...
Residents are also fed up with the situation. Long-established neighbors living
adjacent to the plant cannot open their windows or run air conditioners without
enduring the most horrific stench."
Myth: A prohibition on horse
slaughter creates a negative precedent for beef, pork and poultry producers by
legitimizing efforts to end consumption of food derived from any animal.
Fact: Americans
don't eat horses, and unlike other livestock, we don't breed them for human
consumption. Additionally, horses are different from cattle (and other animals
specifically bred, sold, and transported for human consumption) due to their
instinctive flight response in stressful conditions, making it difficult to
accurately stun them prior to slaughter. Undercover footage has demonstrated
that many horses are dismembered while fully conscious, underscoring the need to
ban this utterly inhumane process. The American public overwhelming supports a
ban on horse slaughter- horses have a special place in our heritage and they are
beloved companions to millions today.
Myth: Consuming horse meat does not
put the public's health at risk.
Fact: Horse meat is potentially
dangerous to humans when eaten because horses are not raised for this purpose.
Recent lab work revealed that horse meat from one of the Texas plants contains
several substances that are not intended for human consumption. Our horses are
regularly treated with worming medications, drugs and other injections that are
not intended for human consumption.
Myth: There has been no formal public
discussion on this issue.
Fact: For years, legislation that would prohibit horse slaughter
has been under consideration in the Senate. The U.S. House of Representatives
witnessed thoughtful and substantial public floor debate on this identical
amendment which led to its passage by a landslide bipartisan vote. Further,
there has been extensive media coverage on this issue by newspapers and
television networks nationwide including CNN, The L.A. Times, The Washington
Post, USA Today, and many others. Action on this issue is past due and the
Ensign-Byrd Amendment is a perfect opportunity to halt this extremely
controversial and tax-supported practice.
Passage of this amendment
will end the suffering of nearly 100,000 of America's horses in a single year,
and will be good for animal welfare. The humane community supports an end to the
slaughter of our horses, as does the American public. Please support the
Ensign-Byrd (Sweeney) amendment to the Agriculture Appropriations bill.
