Keep U.S. Horses SAFE
Stop Horses From Being Shipped to Slaughter!
As living, breathing, sentient beings with interests and lives of their own, all animals have the right to exist and thrive without exploitation and early death. As such, it is extremely disturbing that we have to fight to keep yet another animal off the menu in the United States. Eating animal flesh should be a thing of the past and promoting horse meat as yet another type of foodstuff should not even be an issue in this day and age of more enlightened treatment of some animals and better overall health education. Yet, here we are in 2015, and the idea of horse slaughter for human consumption still hangs in the balance as those of us against it stand behind the latest bill to protect horses by protecting humans from the consumption of unsafe equine bodies.
Although there is now a ban on horse slaughter in the U.S. as per an amendment included in the funding package for fiscal year 2015, more than 100,000 horses are transported via long grueling treks yearly to Canada and Mexico to meet their bloody, painful, and terrifying death. From young to old, and healthy to sick, including even winning ex-racehorse champions-they have all been slaughtered as "food" once no longer useful to their humans, and this happens each and every day.
Like all other sentient beings, horses establish relationships with others, they play, and they feel pain. They are prey animals with a flight tendency. They become stressed easily and can feel imminent danger. When packed into overcrowded trailers for transport, they are terrorized as well as terrified. During long transports, horses are often without food, water or enough room to stand. The provision in the amendment that prohibits horse slaughter plant inspections (which has prevented horse slaughterhouse killings in the United States) will end after September 2015, opening the door to more atrocities for horses if something is not done quickly!
Throughout their lives, equines often are treated with drugs that are toxic to humans. When sent to slaughter, which is bad in and of itself, there is no way to determine which horses received toxic drugs, posing an imminent health threat to humans. Additionally, the killing of these horses is anything but humane. Horses are placed in a "kill box" to be stunned with a bolt gun that is often inaccurate and not able to hit its mark. As "fight or flight" animals, they thrash and become over-stressed, suffering immeasurable damage before finally succumbing to a brutal death.
A bill to prevent health threats to humans posed by consuming equines was introduced May 6, 2015, and sponsored by Sen. Robert "Bob" Menendez (D-NJ). It was assigned to a congressional committee to consider it before it possibly is sent to the Senate.
The John Rainey Memorial Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act, S. 1214, deems horses "are not raised for the purpose of human consumption;" and are unsafe for human consumption. The bill specifically states that "equines raised in the United States are frequently treated with substances that are not approved for use in horses intended for human consumption and equine parts are therefore unsafe within the meaning of section 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act." In effect, the consumption of such horses would pose a catastrophic effect on humans. An additional prohibition of the bill includes "the knowing sale or transport of equines or equine parts in interstate or foreign commerce for purposes of human consumption... ."
Along with Menendez, other bill sponsors include Lindsey Graham, R-SC, Susan Collins, R-ME, and Barbara Mikulski, D-MD.
On April 22, 2015, the House version of the bill, H.R. 1942, Safeguard American Food Exports Act of 2015, was introduced by Rep. Frank Guinta (R-NH). That bill is currently sponsored by 88 Democrats and 28 Republicans.
While we at In Defense of Animals advocate for a vegan lifestyle promoting the least harm toward all animals, we are urging our supporters to stand behind these bills to ensure "all horse parts are deemed unsafe."
Click here to get your U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative Names and Contact Information. Then, please call each of them.
Talking points:
- All animals, including horses, are sentient beings, and they feel pain.
- Countless horses are administered drugs during their lives -- drugs that are toxic and unsafe for human consumption, posing a threat to human health.
- US horses are being shipped to Mexico and Canada in overcrowded trailers with no access to food or water. The trips are long and stressful with some horses getting sick and dying a horrific death during the long haul.
- From old to young, all types of horses go to slaughter; there is no discrimination.
- The captive bolt gun used to stun horses before slaughter is often inaccurate and is inhumane.
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