Broader Horse Protection Legislation Reintroduced...

American Horse Defense Fund: Hope for American Horses
U.S. Newswire (press release) - Washington,DC,USA...
WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- "The brutal and needless slaughter of America's faithful and noble horses and ponies may soon finally be a shameless thing of the past due to today's reintroduction into the U.S. House of [Representatives] a redrafted version of the former the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. The American Horse Defense Fund (AHDF), the nation's leading horse protection, education and advocacy nonprofit, applauds the bill's lead sponsor, Representative John Sweeney (R-N.Y.). This bill had 228 cosponsors in the previous Congress but wasn't voted on.

This new version, H.R. 503 amends the Horse Protection Act and will prevent American horses from being slaughtered for human consumption within the US and outside of the US. In 2004, three foreign-owned U.S. horse slaughterhouses in Texas and Illinois slaughtered over 65,000 horses, another 20-25,000 were sent to slaughter in Canada and Japan. After the horses are slaughtered and processed, the meat is shipped to France, Belgium, other European countries and Japan, where horsemeat is considered a healthy delicacy. 'The Europeans don't seem aware that horses in the US are dosed with all kinds of medicines, preparations and wormers all their lives-those containers are all marked 'not for use in animals intended for human consumption'', said AHDF president, Trina Bellak, Esq. Horsemeat is not healthy.

...'This inhumane and disgusting practice, which only serves to promote animal cruelty, needs to be brought to an end,' said Sweeney. 'Support for this legislation is stronger than ever, and I look forward to the day when the American horse no longer ends up on a dinner plate overseas.'

...More information about the bill can be found at http://www.AHDF.org."