URGENT ACTION ALERT...

This is our best chance to move the new bill HR 297 along! Please call or write members of the Committee on Resources and ask them to co-sponsor bill HR 297.

Full information here...
LEGISLATION INTRODUCED TO REPEAL BURNS' WILD HORSE AMENDMENT

On January 25, Representative Nick Rahall (D-WV) introduced H.R. 297,
legislation that will repeal the last minute amendment snuck into the
2005 Federal Appropriations Bill by Sen. Burns (R-MT) last November
that allows the commercial sale of wild horses, thus opening the door
for long protected wild horses to likely be slaughtered.

H.R. 297 would restore the ban on the commercial sale of wild free-
roaming horses and burros granted by Congress 33 years ago through
the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The bill has recently
been referred to the House Committee on Resources.

Immediate action is needed in order to ensure the passage of this
vital legislation.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1) CONTACT YOUR CONGRESSMEN TO COSPONSOR H.R. 297

Contact your US Representative and ask them to cosponsor H.R. 297.
You should also contact ALL the members of the House Committee on
Resources and request that they cosponsor H.R. 297 and urge them to
quickly bring the bill to public hearing.

You can find a directory of the members of the House committee on
Resources with phone and fax numbers on the file section of the board
(Filename "Committee on Resources Contact Info List.doc") and also
at: http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/fullcommittee/members.htm

To find out who your legislators are, go to
www.visi.com/juan/congress/index.html or www.congress.org

DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY? CLICK HERE (Word) or HERE (rich text file) TO OBTAIN A LETTER TEMPLATE YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE YOURSELF!

Additional information about this bill can be found at:

http://www.wildhorsepreservation.com/resources/hr_297.html

http://www.saplonline.org/w_horses.htm

Written letters and faxes are much more effective than emails. Phone calls are also a good way to contact your legislators.

Please start writing, faxing and calling today! Forward this alert to all your friends and ask them to do the same.

2) CONTACT THE MEDIA ABOUT H.R. 297, the AHSPA AND HORSE SLAUGHTER.

It is also vital to keep up the pressure on the media at local, state
and national level. Please, keep sending letters to the editor and
story suggestions to your local and state papers, TV and radio
stations as well as to the major national media networks about HR
297, and the AHSPA. You will find media contact info on this website:

http://newslink.org

It is also very important that you get the word out and tell everyone
you know about the wild horse rider and the horse slaughter issue.

More challenge to wild horse law...

Revised wild horse law challenged...
"...A top House Democrat introduced a bill on Tuesday repealing a new law that allows the federal government to sell wild horses to buyers interested in slaughter.

'We need to stop this senseless and inhumane policy change before it can be carried out,' said Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., said.

Rahall, the ranking Democrat on the House Resources Committee, criticized a new law that lifts long-standing restrictions on how many horses the Bureau of Land Management can sell, to whom and for what purpose.

...'This backdoor legislative maneuver, enacted without public notice, will make these animals available to the highest bidder for processing into commercial products,' Rahall said.

...'Rounding up horses from public lands and putting them in the pipeline for slaughter is cruel and inhumane,' said Michael Markarian, executive vice president of the Humane Society of the United States. 'Our hope is Congress can correct the mistake before thousands of horses go to slaughter.'
"

Who's Overgrazing Federal Land--Wild Horses or Cattle?

Critics assail rider to sell wild horses
"...The Bureau of Land Management is the government agency responsible for the wild horses and burros, and in the wake of the Burns legislation, has not only been criticized by horse advocates but also by their own employees - BLM specialists and volunteers.

'How many wonderful mustangs are going to decorate someone's bloody table? The article (in the Jan. 19 Sun) brought it all home,' a tearful BLM volunteer (who wanted to remain anonymous) said last week in a telephone interview. 'All the things I've known and not been able to talk about.'

One criticism has to do with the BLM's target numbers for the herds. Jill Starr, of Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue in Lancaster, Calif., said that the herd statistics are not created from an actual head count...'Most herds have not been counted for years,' she said.

...'3.1 million cows eat a whole lot more grass than 30,000 horses. But the rich ranchers want more. I can't see why the horses are the problem.' The cattle on public lands outnumber the horses by 150 to 1, said Starr. 'And that number doesn't even tell the whole story, because a cow and calf are counted as one animal, but a horse and colt count as two.'

...'We really need letters to Congress,' said Karen Knippel, Dennis' wife and a BLM volunteer. 'Stacks and stacks of people protesting the (Burns) bill.'"

Letters from America...

Wild and free horses have a right to freedom, too...
"...Is their freedom actually hurting us? What right does Sen. Burns have to sneak in a rider to amend a federal law that has been in effect since 1971 to protect wild horses and burros on federal land? This rider allows the sale of wild horses that have not been fortunate enough to be adopted; many to slaughter houses. How fair is this?

I watched a movie last night, "In Pursuit of Honor." It was about the calvary in 1935. General MacArthur ordered the execution of 400 horses. One hundred of them were slaughtered by machine guns and gunfire. Finally, sickened by this, a lieutenant went against orders and fled with a few other men and the remaining 300 or so horses.

The journey continued over a very long and hard 2,000 miles before finally leading what remained of the horses to Canada. Instead of being court marshalled, they were pardoned by President Roosevelt.

Throughout time, we have fought for freedom. Please allow the beautiful, majestic horses their right to freedom."

Citizens and Legislators Advocate for Horses!

Bill Introduced to Restore Prohibition of Wild Horses to Slaughter...
"Congressman Nick Rahall of West Virginia introduced a bill (H.R. 297) to the House of Representatives on Jan. 25 that would restore the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses and burros.

In a speech to the 109th Congress, Rahall said, 'My legislation is necessary because of 36 lines that were hidden away in the recently enacted Consolidated Appropriations Act that overturned more than 30 years of national policy on the protection and management of wild free-roaming horses and burros. This backdoor legislative maneuver, enacted without public notice, will make these animals available to the highest bidder for processing into commercial products.'

Rahall went on to say that there are other alternatives for controlling wild horse and burro populations, such as adoption, sterilization, relocation, and placement with qualified individuals and organizations. 'To suggest that an acceptable solution to a federal agency’s (the Bureau of Land Management, or the controlling agency for the care of the wild horses and burros) management shortcomings is commercial slaughter is an irresponsible approach to our public lands and the wildlife that roam them.'"
editor's note: Thank you, Rep. Rahall! If you would like to send your thanks to him and co-sponsor Congressman Ed Whitfield of Kentucky, please send them a note through their websites: Rahall | Whitfield.PLEASE CONTINUE TO CONTACT YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES! YOU CAN FIND LINKS ON THE SIDEBAR TO THE RIGHT.

Activists Campaign to Stop Horse Slaughter...
"Last November, the US Congress approved an amendment that reversed three decades of US government policy prohibiting companies from slaughtering wild horses living on public lands...Lawmakers buried the language in the 3,000-plus pages of the FY 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Bill that President Bush signed into law last December.

'It’s an American tragedy,' said Karen Harkson, President of Equine Voices Rescue and Sanctuary in Amado, Arizona. 'These horses suffer terribly before they are butchered. Eighty percent of those horses are healthy, and many more of their [former] owners don’t realize that they will be slaughtered.' The non-profit Equine Voices Rescue and Sanctuary rescues horses and then works to have them adopted.

...According to Markarian, horses on public lands are being targeted because they are seen as competition for forage by the cattle industry. 'Cattlemen claim that the cattle are in competition with the horses and burros for forage because of recent droughts in the West in the recent years,' he said. Markarian, however, pointed out that the approximately 37,000 horses and burros are sharing the same land with three to four million cattle. 'It’s nearly one horse per 100 cattle, but the ranchers want the horses and burros off public lands,' Markarian said. 'Cattle ranchers get a free ride on the backs of American taxpayers. They are using public lands and the American taxpayer is paying for it.'"

Measure outlaws sale of horse meat in state...
"Horse lovers want New Mexico to ban the sale of horse meat in New Mexico.

The Placitas-based Wild Horses Observation Association says foreign companies often buy horses for slaughter for human consumption.

The association says no horse meat is sold in New Mexico. The group says recent federal legislation allows some wild horses to be slaughtered. They say that endangers New Mexico’s wild horses.

The Senate Public Affairs Committee has given a do-pass recommendation to the measure. Senate Bill 67 is sponsored by Republican Senator Steve Komadina of Corrales."

Animal rights group wants to give doomed horses to tribes--Idea latest in furor over controversial legislation...
"An animal rights group hopes to muster support to defeat legislation that they say would result in thousands of wild horses being used as food for Europeans. Rather, the group would like to give those horses to Indian tribes.

The controversy started when Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., sponsored legislation that reversed a longstanding Bureau of Land Management law. For years the BLM required people adopting wild horses to prove over the course of a year that they could adequately care for them before the agency would grant legal ownership. Burns’ legislation allows the bureau to sell horses that are 10 or older, or that have been unsuccessfully offered for adoption three times, without the waiting period.

The law outraged many who worried that the horses could end up in countries like France and Belgium where horse steaks are considered a delicacy...

...Rep. Nick J. Rahall, D-WV, this week introduced legislation to put the waiting period back in place.

'The current slaughter policy does not acknowledge the fact that humane alternatives exist and federal agencies have the authority to carry out such actions such as adoption, sterilization, relocation, and placement with qualified individuals and organizations. To suggest that an acceptable solution to a federal agency’s management dilemma is commercial slaughter is an irresponsible approach to our public lands and the wildlife that roam them,' Rahall said. 'Very few icons of the West remain, and wild horses are certainly a symbol of the frontier era and our nation’s spirit. To allow them to be slaughtered without exhausting all other options, such as adoption, is an affront to our history.'

The Alliance of Wild Horse Advocates, comprised of over 40 wild horse and burro advocacy groups from dozens of states, is encouraging people to support Rahall’s legislation.

'We commend [him] for introducing this bill. He has taken an important step in the history of our country because, if this law is not changed, America could lose its wild horses forever. We will not allow our wild horses to be slaughtered so they can be served for dinner in France, or anywhere,' said Willis Lamm, an alliance member..."

Hi-Desert woman dedicates her life to rescuing horses
"From wild mustangs to thoroughbred race horses, King rescues horses that would otherwise be slaughtered or put down...

...Indigo is a male that she rescued from an auction. King says he probably would have ended up in a slaughter yard.

'A lot of times meat buyers look for big bones that they pay nothing for and then fatten them up and make a lot of money off them.'

And King says often times that why these horses are brought to sell in the first place. They may be racing horses who are no longer winning and making money.

But King says they still have a lot to offer the people who ride them or the families she helps place them with.

'I'll get kids with low self esteem and see them bond and see both the kid and the horse come alive.'"

ACT NOW!

Make use of this important ACTION ALERT put out by the The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign

Legislation Introduced to Protect Wild Horses and Burros--SHOW YOUR SUPPORT!

INFORMATION VIA WILD HORSE ADVOCATES:

Representative Rep Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) introduced the following legislation on January 15, 2005.

109TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 297
To restore the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and burros.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Mr. RAHALL (for himself and Mr. WHITFIELD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on _________________

A BILL
To restore the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and burros.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SALE OF WILD FREE-ROAMING HORSES AND BURROS.

(a) IN GENERAL - Section 3(d)(5) of Public Law 92-195 (16 U.S.C. 1333(d)(5)) is amended -

(1) by striking the period and inserting the following: "Provided, That no wild free-roaming horse or burro or its remains may be sold or transferred for consideration for processing into commercial products."; and
(2) by striking subsection (e).

(b) CRIMINAL PROVISIONS.—Section (8)(a)(4) of Public Law 92-195 (16 U.S.C. 1338(a)(4)) is amended by striking "except as provided in section 3(e),"


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What the bill means:

If HR-297 passes, it will:

Prohibit sales of BLM wild horses and burros for purposes of rendering into any commercial products (e.g., they can't be sold for slaughter.)

Repeal the section in the Burns rider that exempts the older animals and "three strikes" animals from the protection of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. (Those protections would again be in force.)

Repeal language eliminating criminal penalties for using wild horses and burros for unlawful commercial purposes.

*******Note: This bill still has to clear committee, be passed by the House of Representatives, be passed in the Senate and be signed by the President before it becomes law. Public support is still needed! ******

Action needed!

Contact Congressmen Rahill and Whitfield and offer thanks and support.

• Congressman Rahall's Web Site
  
• Congressman Whitfield's Web Site

Contact your own Congressman and ask him/her to support HR-297.
Locate your Congressman here

Continue your correspondence to Senators in opposition to wild horse slaughter sales.
Locate your Senator here

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED--BE HEARD...

Society for Animal Protective Legislation: Congress Moves to Protect America's Horses...(US Newswire)
"...there is a dark side to this relationship few people know about -- the slaughter of horses for human consumption. Last year over 65,000 American horses were killed in the US to satisfy the demand for this "delicacy" in France, Italy, Belgium and Japan. The number butchered is expected to go higher following a "rider" slipped though Congress last year that will send thousands of our wild horses to their death. Two bills have been introduced in response to overwhelming public demand to protect America's horses from slaughter.

The first is the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act which will ban horse slaughter within the United States and prohibit the export of live horses for the same purpose. The bill, which last year received a majority of support in the US House of Representatives, has been reintroduced by Rep. John Sweeney (R-N.Y.) and Rep. John Spratt (D-S.C.).

The second bill (HR 297), introduced by Rep. Nick Rahall (D- W.Va.), ranking member of the House Resources Committee and Congressman Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), will restore the Wild Free- Roaming Horse and Burro Act to its original language which prevented wild horses from being sold for slaughter.

'To allow these animals to be slaughtered without exhausting all other care options is akin to condoning the death of a portion of our history. This legislation will ensure that horses sold to willing buyers are not destined for the slaughter house,' said Rep. Rahall.

'Both bills reflect the urgency for swift passage, given the dramatic increase in horses slaughtered last year coupled with the almost certain influx of once federally protected wild horses this year,' notes Chris Heyde, Policy analyst for the Society for Animal Protective Legislation.

The Society for Animal Protective Legislation urges concerned constituents to contact their legislators and request they cosponsor these essential bills. To learn more about the legislation and find your legislators please visit http://www.saplonline.org."

Ten Years and Tender Enough for the Butcher...

New law on mustangs met with kicks, snorts... (Rocky Mountain News)
A month-old law allows the bureau to sell horses that are 10 years old or older, or that have been unsuccessfully offered for adoption three times, without the waiting period.

"We've got to get the number of animals down to appropriate management levels and keep them there, but do it in a way that doesn't bankrupt us," said U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Montana, who sponsored the amendment that changed the law.

Barb Flores, of Fort Collins, a board director for the American Mustang and Burro Association, said the Burns amendment could doom many of the auctioned animals.

"Horses can be purchased for a token and immediately sent to slaughter, ending up on restaurant tables in Europe and Japan," Flores said.

American horse meat coveted in Europe... (Contra Costa Times--subscription site; sign up is free)

"...horse meat has morphed into a high-end fare of discerning European carnivores.

And some of the world's tastiest comes from the United States, where mustangs roam the range buffing up on nothing but grass, according to European horse butchers.

...Because it takes years for a horse to reach prime slaughter age, a hardship on a continent that lacks vast grasslands, European horse butchers seek stock from overseas, primarily Argentina, Australia, Canada and, increasingly, the United States.

A sign in Märki's shop reads "horse meat origin USA." Next to a logo of a prancing steed are the words "Dallas Crown, Inc. Texas, USA." Märki swears by the American stuff, which, he said, is lean and tastes great because of the animals' lifestyle.

'The Americans pretty much let them roam free. They eat nothing but grass -- not the kind of (expletive) you feed to pigs,' said Märki, who has cut horse meat for 43 years.

...Horse meat is special in another way.

'The older the horse, the more tender it is; it's the opposite of other meats,' said Jean-Claude Terraillon, proprietor of J.Cl. Terraillon, a Geneva horse meat wholesaler and retailer.

The optimal age for slaughter is between 10 and 15 years; the minimum, 7 years, Terraillon said.

Märki pays his Geneva wholesaler the equivalent of about $6.15 a pound for American horse meat. He sells more than 220 pounds per week retail for $10.80 to $11.60 a pound.

...Many of the horses slaughtered in Canada were American, including former race horses, according to "Le monde équestre," a Quebec horse lovers' Web site. Some meat ends up as dog food, zoo food or feed for animals raised for fur, according to the site.

...European horse butchers have no such worries about United States imports. 'They're wild horses,' said Märki, 'The taste (of their meat) is very, very good -- extra(ordinary).'

I wonder why Sen. Burn's rider, exterminating more than 30 years of wild horse protection, dictates unadopted horses 10 years or older to be auctioned off? Coincidence?

Wild horses lose protection from slaughter(Contra Costa Times--subscription site; sign up is free)

"In repealing the Wild and Free Ranging Horse and Burro Protection Act of 1971, the provision orders the BLM to sell its captured horses and -- in an irresistible lure to an agency whose costs have been rising at a rate of 45 percent -- to keep the profits.

But critics say the order ensures the slaughter of the equines.

Since hoof and mouth disease surfaced in 2001, demand for U.S. horse meat overseas has risen dramatically, and individual small ranchers with hope of adopting a horse say they can't compete with slaughterhouses in price.

There are three horse slaughterhouses in America: two in Texas, one in DeKalb, Ill. All are European-owned.

Ray Field, director of the Wild Horse Foundation of Franklin, Texas, is a neighbor. Field's WHF contracts with the BLM to adopt horses. His organization found homes for 880 horses and burros last year alone.

He accused the BLM, which is drowning under its soaring costs, of pushing for the change.

'Their adoption program is a mish-mash and their marketing sucks,' he said. 'But instead of saying, 'Your marketing sucks. You're fired.' They said, 'Let's kill us some horses.''

A high-ranking BLM manager agreed that the agency would save hundreds of thousands of dollars on boarding costs by selling the animals to what he called 'kill buyers' in lots.

The U.S. Humane Society Web site says 55,776 horses were slaughtered last year in the U.S. and thousands more transported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter there. The meat is exported to Belgium, France, Italy, Japan and Switzerland, where it is considered a delicacy."

Advocates Call Emergency Meeting...

Wild horse advocates to meet over new rules...
"The conference...is a response to a provision in a $388 billion spending bill that President Bush signed into law recently.

The provision allows wild horses be sold, potentially for use as meat in foreign markets, if they are more than 10 years old or, if younger, after they have been offered unsuccessfully for adoption three times.

'The way that (provision) was snuck in says something about the machinery of government...It didn’t have a chance to come to the public so there was no time for the democratic process,' Allen said."

More Editorials and Letters to the Editor...

Wild Horses Into French Fries?
"...when the Cowboy President signed into law the federal appropriations bill that included a last-minute amendment ending three decades of protection for wild horses. That's right: not salamanders, not acres and acres of featureless Alaskan tundra, but wild freakin' horses. And we're not talking the kind of protection-gutting that simply opens habitat to drilling or development, and passes for innocuous to those who prefer not to look too hard. No, siree. Instead, the amendment (initially authored by Montana Republican Sen. Conrad Burns) opens the possibility, forbidden since 1971, that America's wild horses will be eaten. And eaten, most likely, by the French.

Most of the United States' 37,000 wild horses roam Bureau of Land Management land, which is also leased out to ranchers. Because the horses compete with cattle for food and water, but do not vote or donate to political campaigns, every so often the BLM thins the horse herd. In previous years, that meant finding them adoptive homes, which had to meet certain criteria for the horses' care. But under the new language, anyone can buy the extra horses at auction, including meat producers who want to slaughter them for sale in European countries like Belgium and France, where folks think they taste good, and where their fat is considered an unparalleled medium in which to deep-fry potatoes.

Pass the Freedom Fries. In the meantime, horse advocates hope the publicity on the wild horses will help get some movement on a long-stalled bill like the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. The act would outlaw slaughter of both wild and domestic horses, the latter of which has been going on for years and, despite a legislative challenge last session and a pending federal court decision to shut down the slaughterhouses, occurs in exactly one state: Texas. Yee-haw."

Save Gus, the nosy, flirting burro...
"...As the owner of a burro, I'm taking this assault on these creatures personally. Burros are smart, loyal, comical and fearless critters. They're also loud, which makes burro ownership more self-defining than you might think. Having a burro in the backyard means neighbors as far as 2 miles away say, "Oh, you're the people with the burro."

We acquired our burro, Gus, 11 years ago. We wanted him to keep our mare company when we moved to our own place. Gus is an entertainer by nature and a reporter by avocation...According to the Humane Society, there are only 36,000 wild horses and burros roaming free on land owned by the American public, but the ranchers who graze 4.1 million cattle on those lands argue that's too much competition for grass.

The Humane Society has joined with 62 other organizations, representing 11 million animal lovers, to urge the passage of new legislation that will undo the Burns rider and once again protect wild horses and burros from the slaughterhouse..."

Something to Remember...
"...Here is where Rep. Goodlatte played his part. HR 857 (The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act) gained 228 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, and could have easily passed legislation on the House floor if it had been given the chance to be voted on. But due to Bob Goodlatte, it got held up in the House Agriculture Committee, of which he is chairman.

He decided to ignore public opinion, ignore the rest of Congress, and became the man responsible for making sure that this bill would die in his committee. Despite thousands of letters begging him to let the bill go forth for a vote, he refused and said 'the public is too ignorant of the issue.' He made sure that thousands of horses would continue to be slaughtered and their meat sent overseas for human consumption.

It did not matter to him that the horses are slaughtered in the most brutal, cruel and inhumane manner. It did not matter to him that he would become the man responsible for the murder of thousands of America's horses.

Today, in Hitchcock, Texas, at Habitat for Horses, there stands a tree. This year there were no decorations, no ornaments. Instead there were 2,500 tiny lights blazing on it, symbolizing the memories of the thousands of horses lives that were lost due to slaughter ... due to Bob Goodlatte.

The tree stands waiting for its final decoration: a star to be placed at the top, when the slaughter is over, and the horses are safe."

How did this happen against the wishes of the American people?

Writer Expresses Disgust at Use of Horses at Inauguration...

The only right thing to do...
"As I watched previews on the news for President Bush's Inauguration, I was surprised to see that security for this event was at a cost of $14 million. What I found really surprising was that a lot of that security was on horseback. How ironic and how arrogant, when you consider what the Bush administration has in store for America's horses.

The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (HR 857) had gained 228 cosponsors in the House of Representatives last year, more than enough to pass the House floor if it had been given the chance to be voted on. The bill was sent to the Agriculture Committee, where Bob Goodlatte, chairman of that committee, told the public he was going to kill the bill, and despite thousands of letters begging him to release the bill for a vote, he refused. The bill died in his committee..."

High Schoolers Fear Mustangs' Fate...

Damonte Ranch High students free wild horses from temporary corral...
"Some students at Damonte Ranch High School feared for the lives of wild horses roaming near their south Reno campus.

After all, the schools sports teams are called the 'Mustangs'...Students feared the horses were being rounded up for slaughter."

Editorials and Articles Nationwide Continue to Express Outrage...

Wild horse rider raises unbridled ire...
...Wild horses and burros living free on public lands have been protected from slaughter by federal law since 1971 - but that was suddenly changed by a rider included in the massive appropriations bill signed into law last month by President George W. Bush.

The rider was introduced by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) and mandates the sale, without restrictions, of some categories of wild horses. Horses 10 years or older, and those not adopted after three tries, will be sold at public auction - and many, if not most, will be sold to slaughterhouses...

A position of absurdity...commentary from Thoroughbred Times.
...They rationalize their position by speaking of a fate "worse than death" for horses if slaughter is removed as an option for owners. But can anyone look at these images on these websites and reach that same conclusion?

If there were no alternatives, the AAEP’s and AVMA’s position might be easier to understand. But there are at least 240 documented rescue groups operating in the U.S. that save thousands of horses annually. Hundreds of people have devoted their lives to saving and/or retraining horses and have been doing so for years.
...

Sounding a battle cry for wild horses who have lost federal protection
...federal protection of these majestic wild animals quietly ended Dec. 8 through language tucked into the 4,000-page appropriations bill passed by Congress.

No one knew it until later - there was no public debate, no public hearings were called - but Section 142 of the appropriations bill (a budget bill!) removed measures in the 1971 law assuring that wild horses could not be sold for slaughter...

Illinoisians Say "Whoa" to Slaughter
More than 49,000 horses were slaughtered in the U.S. last year at the two foreign-owned slaughterhouses in Texas. The horsemeat was then exported to Europe and Asia where it is considered a delicacy.

"The horses bound for slaughter often travel hundreds or thousands of miles in cramped quarters without adequate food or water, and the process used to kill these beautiful animals is neither humane nor acceptable," said Gail Vacca of the National Horse Protection Coalition.

Also at issue is that horses raised in the United States are not raised or regulated for food production. "These animals routinely receive medications that are clearly labeled by the Federal Drug Administration as 'not for use in horses intended for food,'" said Dr. Lydia Gray, executive director of the Hooved Animal Humane Society. "Slaughter-bound horses are also not tested for a host of equine diseases including EIA and West Nile."

The wild mustang - free no more

...According to Ray Field, director of the Wild Horse Foundation of Texas, the BLM has already approved a lump sale of over 8,300 wild horses and burros to a single buyer. Field said that the best price given at a sale barn or slaughter sale would be 10-12 cents per pound, which averages less than $100 per horse. The sold horses could then be transported to one of three U.S. slaughterhouses, two of which are in Texas, for processing and shipment to countries in Europe and Japan, where horsemeat is considered a delicacy.

"Selling off our American heritage has now been given a price," said Field.

Prior to these actions, the wild mustang and burro were federally protected thanks to the efforts of Velma Johnston, otherwise known as Wild Horse Annie..."

Welcome...

This weblog will be dedicated to the issue of horse slaughter in the United States where horses are viewed as companions and not food. Foreign-owned slaughter plants are quietly slaughtering horses and sending horsemeat overseas where it is considered a delicacy.

Since we DO NOT eat horsemeat here in the US, we do not want to send our equine companions to this brutal fate.

Very few people know that at the 11th hour, Sen. Conrad Burns of Montana slipped into the 4,000+ page Omnibus Bill a rider that allows for America's wild horses to be sold to "killer buyers." Killer buyers go to horse auctions and buy horses to be sent to slaughter.

A bill to protect America's horses from slaughter is sitting in Congress as we speak. Please write to your senators and representatives and encourage them to support The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (HR 857--reps) (bill S. 2352--senate).

More information about the act HERE.

If you have been told that horse slaughter is a humane practice, think again. Learn about it here.

There is also a wonderful Yahoo! group called "against horse slaughter." Click here to join.