The Unwanted Horse Theory Unveiled

Many supporters of horse slaughter have often relied on the "unwanted horse theory"--that if horse slaughter was banned a surplus of horses would result. Read the study that refutes the myth HERE.

Thanks to the NHPC for the link.

Ebayers Work to Stop Horse Slaughter

eBay Sellers Help Rescue Slaughter-Bound Thoroughbreds
(excerpt)
A Breyer Ruffian model created by Faye Cohen is being auctioned on eBay to raise money for Angel Acres Horse Haven Rescue, Inc., in Glenville, Pa., and ultimately advance the adoption of rescued Thoroughbreds.

The Breyer Ruffian model is just one of the unsolicited items offered for sale on eBay by private individuals who support the organization's cause. Angel Acres Horse Rescue (www.saveahorsenow.org) is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit rescue dedicated to saving slaughter-bound horses. Angel Acres also assists in cases of neglect and abuse.

"We are thrilled that people feel so strongly about our cause that, without being asked, they raise money for us by placing items on eBay," says Jo Deibel, president of Angel Acres.

Some of the eBay supporters are supporting Angel Acres via MissionFish (www.missionfish.org). MissionFish helps individuals support causes through trading on eBay. Since 2000, the agency has lent its support to thousands of organizations and donors, and it has raised millions of dollars through online auctions.

Proceeds from the Breyer Ruffian sale and other eBay auction proceeds will be used to encourage the adoption of retired Thoroughbreds from Angel Acres by responsible owners. The auctions appear at www.missionfish.org/NPMMF/nphomepage.jsp?NP_ID=4722.

Ruffian, a brilliant dark bay Thoroughbred filly, won race after race until her fateful match against Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure when she broke down.

Hearing on Horse Slaughter to be Held July 25-- CALLS NEEDED URGENTLY!

(from SAPL)

Hearing on Horse Slaughter to be Held July 25-- CALLS NEEDED URGENTLY!

July 20, 2006

Dear Humanitarian,

H.R. 503, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (AHSPA), is on the docket to be reviewed by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. A hearing on the bill is scheduled for 2 p.m. on July 25, 2006.

The AHSPA, as you know, will permanently put an end to the slaughter of horses for human consumption and the domestic and international transport of live horses or horseflesh for the same purpose. Just last year, over 90,000 horses were slaughtered in the three foreign-owned horse slaughter facilities located in Texas and Illinois.

Crowded into trailers and exposed to the elements, horses are hauled for up to 28 hours without a break. When they reach the slaughterhouse, callous workers poke and beat the animals as they are shoved into the kill box. Despite the federal mandate that horses be rendered unconscious before having their throats slit, repeated blows with captive bolt pistols are often necessary to stun them, and their death is protracted and excruciating. Members of Congress must end this practice by adopting the AHSPA in its original form.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Please contact ALL subcommittee members and urge them to strongly support the AHSPA as written. Make a special effort to respectfully request all members of the subcommittee who are cosponsors (indicated by * in the contact list below) ATTEND the committee hearing and SUPPORT both the AHSPA and Representative Whitfield, who is participating in the hearing. Call or fax TODAY until the hearing takes place on Tuesday. Please share our Dear Humanitarian eAlert with family, friends and co-workers, and encourage them to call or fax their Members of Congress, too.

For more information about horse slaughter and H.R. 503, please click here: http://www.saplonline.org/horses.htm. Your support is needed and much appreciated.

Sincerely,
Cathy Liss
Legislative Director


Sign up for SAPL eAlerts to receive the latest legislative news on what you can do to help us protect all animals. http://www.saplonline.org/action.htm

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


HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMERCE TRADE AND CONSUMER PROTECTION CONTACT INFO DIRECTORY

Chair and Ranking Min. Member.......Phone............Fax

Chair: Cliff Stearns (R-FL)......202-225-5744....202-225-3973
Rnk: Janice Schakowsky (D-IL)*...202-225-2111....202-226-6890

Members:

Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)*............202-225-2906....202-225-6942
Charles F. Bass (R-NH)...........202-225-5206....202-225-2946
Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)..........202-225-2811....202-225-3004
Mary Bono (R-CA)*................202-225-5330....202-225-2961
Sherrod Brown (D-OH)*............202-225-3401....202-225-2266
Barbara Cubin (R-WY).............202-225-2311....202-225-3057
Jim Davis (D-FL)*................202-225-3376....202-225-5652
Nathan Deal (R-GA)...............202-225-5211....202-225-8272
Diana DeGette (D-CO)*............202-225-4431....202-225-5657
Michael Ferguson (R-NJ)*.........202-225-5361....202-225-9460
Charles Gonzalez (D-TX)*.........202-225-3236....202-225-1915
Gene Green (D-TX)*...............202-225-1688....202-225-9903
Edward Markey (D-MA)*............202-225-2836....202-226-0092
Tim Murphy (R-PA)................202-225-2301....202-225-1844
Sue Myrik (R-NC)*................202-225-1976....202-225-3389
C. L. Butch Otter (R-ID).........202-225-6611....202-225-3029
Joseph Pitts (R-PA)*.............202-225-2411....202-225-2013
George Radanovich (R-CA).........202-225-4540....202-225-3402
Mike Rogers (R-MI)...............202-225-4872....202-225-5820
Mike Ross (D-AR).................202-225-3772....202-225-1314
Bobby Rush (D-IL)*...............202-225-4372....202-226-0333
Tedd Strickland (D-OH)*..........202-225-5705....202-225-5907
Lee Terry (R-NE).................202-225-4155....202-226-5452
Edolphus Towns (D-NY)*...........202-225-5936....202-225-1018
Fred Upton (R-MI)................202-225-3761....202-225-4986

* Denotes HR 503 Co-sponsors

Horse Meat in Demand in Mexico Since Mad Cow Scare

Horse meat big in Juárez
By Louie Gilot/For the Sun-News


(EXCERPT)

JUÁREZ, Mexico — At the rastro, the municipal slaughterhouse in Juárez, thousands of animals are slaughtered for human consumption each month with the swift stab of a knife to the back of the neck. About a quarter of them are American horses.

But tracking just how many of the local mounts end up on tables down south is difficult, said a livestock inspector for the Las Cruces area...

Shaun McCauley, an inspector with the New Mexico Livestock Department who is based in Las Cruces, said it's hard to track where the horses sold in southern New Mexico end up.

"A lot of the horses that are sold at auction, we really have no idea of where they go," he said...

The Juárez slaughterhouse used to kill only about 20 horses a month, but after Mexico closed its border to U.S. imports of cattle, citing the fear of mad cow disease, local meat distributors struggled to make up for the loss, Luis Manuel Terrazas, the slaughterhouse's director, said.

These days, his 60 workers put to death about 1,400 horses a month, just under 30 percent of all the animals killed. About 70 percent of the horses come from U.S. ranches...

There is no consumption of horse meat in the United States — not even for pet food — but more than 90,000 U.S. horses were slaughtered for exportation to Europe and Japan last year in three
foreign-owned slaughterhouses: Beltex Corp. in Fort Worth, Texas, owned by a Belgian company; Dallas Crown in Kaufman, Texas, owned by a French company; and Cavel International in DeKalb, Ill., owned by a Belgian company.

American activists are trying to outlaw the slaughter of horses, calling it cruel. The practice has decreased from 342,877 horses slaughtered in 1989 to 91,757 last year, but it has crept up in the past four years, according to Department of Agriculture statistics. Many U.S. horses are also exported to Mexico and Canada for slaughter, but exact statistics were not available.

Two bills currently stalled in committee would prohibit the slaughter of horses in the United States and the transportation of horses for slaughter elsewhere — HR 503 in the House and S 1915 in the Senate...

The slaughterhouse does not use a so-called captive bolt gun, the standard device in the U.S. slaughter of horses that renders the animal unconscious by shooting a metal rod into the horse's brain. The Mexican worker uses a method reminiscent of the final blow in a bullfight. The animal dies in what appears to be five to 10 seconds...[READ ENTIRE ARTICLE]

Sun-News reporter Jason Gibbs contributed to this report.


Louie Gilot writes for the El Paso Times, a member of the Texas-New Mexico Newspapers Partnership, and can be reached at lgilot@elpasotimes.com

Rescuing from Slaughter...

Wingin' It
JILL WING, The Saratogian
"...The horses, like children who have been abused and neglected to the point of near psychosis, are slowly coming around to Susan. We walked the well-worn dirt roads between the paddocks and when one horse spotted Susan coming up the road, a silent trumpet sounded, alerting the horses that company was coming, and treats were in hand. Some horses hobble to the fence, others less damaged trot to greet Susan with her outstretched hand.

Tom and Jerry, father and son Belgian drafts and former Amish workhorses, were emaciated and sick when Susan found them at a meat auction. They are both crippled, but they are living out their lives in high cotton, each having gained a few hundred pounds since their rescue.

The stories of the rescues are remarkable, even jaw-dropping to think that people could be so cruel to the animals they depend on for a living or for recreation. Susan said she gets two or three calls every day from people asking her to take horses off their hands, or from others reporting abuses. Sadly, she is only one person, and can't respond to most of them. It tears at her heart..." [READ ENTIRE ARTICLE]

Vote on Horse Slaughter Could Occur As Early As July 10

Slaughter Legislation Could Be Put To Vote
by: Amanda Duckworth
July 2006 Article # 7181

(excerpt)
The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act could be put to a vote when Congress returns July 10 from its Fourth of July recess. Before the break, Capitol Hill was the scene of intense lobbying from those on both sides of the issue.

..."We have had a lot of people trying to raise awareness to hopefully shake things loose. We've had a lot of veterinarians and Thoroughbred owners and breeders in town. Even (Arthur and Staci Hancock of Stone Farm near Paris, Ky.), were here doing some meetings."

The bill is believed to have the support of about 200 members of the House; to pass that chamber, a bill requires a simple majority of the 435 members.

"We should be at at least 200 or a little over that," Heyde said. "I think it will be much better in the Senate, where we haven't had as much opposition, and we've only really had one person that opposes it in the House."

U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield of Kentucky is a strong proponent of the legislation. On June 26, Brent Dolen, his press secretary, sought support from the Jockeys' Guild.

East Texas Woman Wants Horse Slaughter to Stop

East Texas Woman Pushes For Anti Horse Slaughtering Bill To Pass Congress

Horses being slaughtered for their meat, the issue will be facing congress as early as next week. House Resolution 503 would protect horses and prohibit the shipping, transportation and slaughtering of horses for human consumption. Currently, there are 3 plants in the United States that slaughter horses, including one in the Kaufman community. The meat is transported to Europe, where it's considered a delicacy.

One East Texas woman who says the practice is inhumane. Some East Texas are fighting to put a stop to American horse slaughteringhouses.

...According to the group Habitat For Horses, 93,000 horses are slaughtered every year.

"They basically stun them and they are still alive, that's all I really want to say to that nature but it extremely inhumane," says Motlagh.

...She hopes her efforts will give more horses like "Dancer" a second chance at life.

Karolyn Davis, reporting. kdavis@kltv.com

[READ ENTIRE ARTICLE]