House Passes American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (HR 503)

Press Release Source: T. Boone Pickens

The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act Passes U.S. House of Representatives

Thursday September 7, 3:18 pm ET
T. Boone Pickens Applauds U.S. Reps for Protecting Horses, Urges Senate to do the Same

DALLAS, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The following was released today by T. Boone Pickens:
The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503), a bipartisan bill to end the slaughter of horses for human consumption, has just passed the U.S. House of Representatives with a final vote of 263 to 146. It now moves on to the Senate, where Senator and veterinarian John Ensign (R-NV) and Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) have reintroduced an identical measure (S. 1915).

"I applaud every U.S. Representative who voted in favor of H.R. 503. Thank you for standing up for America, for our ideals, and for our horses," said T. Boone Pickens, legendary oilman and philanthropist, who along with his wife, Madeleine, is an outspoken opponent of horse slaughter. "I urge the Senate to pass the Senate version of this bill quickly, and with no amendments."

Life-long animal lovers, T. Boone and Madeleine Pickens have joined forces with key horse organizations, including The National Horse Protection Coalition, in a campaign to support The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. Together, they have run a series of full-page ads in newspapers across the country, asking the public to contact their lawmaker and urge them to vote "Yes" on H.R. 503. The Pickens plan on continuing the campaign through the Senate vote.

"We are well on our way towards ending this despicable practice," said Pickens. "But the fight is not over. We will continue our efforts through the Senate vote, until every American horse is safe from the threat of being served as 'Sunday's Special' in a French restaurant."

A recent national poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies shows that nearly 70% of Americans strongly oppose killing horses for people to eat. Republican and Democrat, young and old, east coast to west coast, poll findings show that Americans overwhelmingly oppose horse slaughter.

The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act has the support of 202 co- sponsors and is championed by more than 500 organizations, including such industry groups as the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and Churchill Downs.

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