A Bill to Reopen Cruel Horse Slaughter Plants in Illinois
Urgent calls are needed to protect equine welfare in the state of Illinois. Please contact your Illinois State Representative to help preserve the 2007 Illinois ban on horse slaughter, which ultimately resulted in the closure of the last remaining horse slaughter plant in the United States.
On February 9, State Representative Richard Morthland (R) reintroduced a bill to overturn the 2007 Illinois ban on horse slaughter. The bill has been assigned to the House Committee on Agriculture and Conservation, which has not scheduled a hearing on the measure. A similar bill has been introduced every year since the original ban, only to be soundly defeated each time. It is an issue that has been discussed and voted on many times before and the facts remain the same – the slaughter process subjects horses to extreme cruelty and an inhumane death, and should remain illegal.
February 3, 2012 – Chicago (EWA) – A poll conducted in January by Lake Research Partners for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) found that 80% of Americans are strongly opposed to horse slaughter. The highly respected research group based its survey on 1,008 voters giving the results a 3% margin of error. The poll found opposition was consistent across all sectors, including horse owners.
The findings are all the more remarkable given the huge media effort that was mounted by the horse slaughter lobby following the closing of U.S. based horse slaughter plants in 2007.
While the effort appeared to have worked on Congress, causing them to restore funding for horse slaughter inspections, it had the opposite effect on voter opinion. A similar poll performed a decade earlier indicates that opposition to horse slaughter has increased by almost 10%.
Washington, DC (January 23, 2012) – Some politicians in Washington feel that restarting a horse slaughter industry on American soil is a good idea. We’d like to offer a small window into how the horse slaughter industry currently operates, as shady players make deals amongst themselves while duping innocent people into giving up their horses to be butchered. Read on…
A story recently surfaced about a 24-year-old Pennsylvania woman, Kelsey Lefever, who faces felony charges after allegedly collecting over 120 retired racehorses from well-meaning owners, promising them she would find good homes for the horses. Her intention all along, however, was to sell them to killer buyers. Their “good homes” turned out to be a slaughterhouse in Canada, where they met with a gruesome death in order to become a “delicacy” at restaurants abroad. In the police report, a witness indicates that Lefever told her, “I killed every one of those (expletive) horses — over 120 of them. If they only knew, every one of them is dead.”
January 16, 2012 – Chicago (EWA) – The Equine Welfare Alliance (EWA) children’s letter writing campaign to end horse slaughter, first announced on January 5th, has now received the support of The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) Humane Education Committee.
The Equine Welfare Alliance (EWA) was contacted by the committee to offer their support and to obtain additional information on the campaign. The committee enclosed a letter from one of their teachers with an email voicing support from Senator Joe Lieberman.
The EWA will provide information to help support, update and expand lesson plans developed by the committee. The plans can be found on the EWA’s new Children’s Page, along with fun and educational videos about famous horses.
January 6, 2012 – Chicago (EWA) – Jo-Claire Corcoran of the Equine Welfare Alliance’s Research Team has launched a children’s letter writing campaign to end the slaughter of American horses. Canadian partners have launched a parallel campaign aimed at stopping horse slaughter in Canada.
A similar campaign forty years ago resulted in the passage of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act that was passed on a unanimous vote in both houses. Jo-Claire commented, “As Wild Horse Annie proved in 1971 congress listened to the children of this country. Sometimes we do not give our children credit for their ability to comprehend. Children growing up on farms which raise animals for food are aware those animals are going to slaughter to become food; they understand those animals were raised for that purpose.” She added, “My grandson understands the difference between animals raised for food and animals that are not raised for food.”
Recently a billboard was put up in Palm Beach County regarding the issue of horse slaughter and specifically against horse slaughter. Pure Thoughts Inc. Horse Rescue stands against horse slaughter and always will; it is a horrific end for a horse’s life; our goal and mission has always been and always will be the welfare of the horses.
Pure Thoughts did not have any prior notice of this billboard (we found out through the newspaper), nor did we contribute financially. Every penny we raise goes directly to the care of the horses at the rescue and we struggle daily to keep the rescue operating. Although a billboard for the rescue could help raise funds, increase adoptions and encourage volunteers, it is just not a luxury we can afford.
As a result of this billboard being put up in Palm Beach County there have been derogative and disparaging remarks posted on various pages in the Facebook community regarding the Wellington Equestrian Community, the Equestrian Show Community and even the Polo Community, as well as the Palm Beach community, stating everything from ignorance of horse slaughter to ambivalence of horse welfare. Pure Thoughts does not appreciate, condone or stand by any of these comments made. They are clearly from people who do not know this community and its dedication to the horses and their welfare. Although we have done our best to retort to all comments made we do not have the time to go in search of every uneducated post so we want to make it clear that not only do we stand by our community and all it entails during show season and all year long, we are PROUD to be a part of it.
January 1, 2012 – Chicago (EWA) – Equine Welfare Alliance (EWA) launched a major campaign on December 30 to expose the underhanded move by Rep. Jack Kingston (GA) and Sens. Kohl (WI) and Blunt (MO) that reinstated horse inspections and opened the way for horse slaughter to return to US soil.
On a must pass bill, the three legislators in a tiny committee quietly removed the language that prohibited the use of taxpayer dollars to fund horse inspections. The action effectively legalized horse slaughter in the US without a debate in the full house and senate, where a straight vote would have failed.
The ad campaign was launched in major theaters running the War Horse film in the legislator’s districts and also reached out to Montana and Wyoming to cover Sen. Baucus and state Rep. Sue Wallis who has become the face of horse slaughter as well as Wallis’ Representative Cynthia Lummis of WY.
Chicago (EWA) – A six month investigation by the EWA and other animal investigation organizations has finally determined the predominant source of abandoned horses in the Southwestern US. The findings show that most or all of more than 5,000 horses a year are being abandoned after being rejected for slaughter at the Mexican border.
The investigation explains the source and reason for abandonments, most of which have been reported in the vast stretches of isolated land north of the Mexican border since 2009. Most of these horses could clearly be identified as domestic stock from such indications as nail holes in their hooves (where shoes had recently been removed) but no other clues to their source were found.
Until now articles about their discovery have speculated that they were abandoned by individual owners because they could no longer afford to feed them. The horse slaughter lobby has further suggested that this was made worse because individuals “no longer had a slaughter option”.
Washington, D.C. (November 15, 2011) – It would appear that some in Congress are all talk when it comes to seriously reducing federal spending and decreasing the size of government. Despite overwhelming objections from the American public and the horse community, and despite Congress’ own supposed belief in fiscal restraint, the fate of America’s horses was undermined by three Members of Congress and their staffs behind closed doors this week. For years, an amendment to the annual Agriculture Appropriations bill has prevented tax dollars from being used to “inspect” horse slaughter facilities in the U.S. The House of Representatives voted this year to again include it in the Fiscal Year 2012 Agriculture Appropriations bill, but three members of the Conference Committee, Representative Jack Kingston (R-GA), Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), and Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), removed it from the final bill. A fourth member of the Conference Committee, Representative Sam Farr (D-CA), was the lone objector.
“I have been in Washington for a long time and this move baffles me. Both parties talked about making the hard cuts in federal spending and yet behind closed doors, three of the four men thought it was a good use of taxpayer dollars to ignore their colleagues and restore a federal program that will cost Americans at least $5 million a year and pull limited USDA inspectors from ensuring the humane treatment and safety of our nation’s food supply. To make matters worse, this was all done to appease a few foreign companies and Big Ag,” said Chris Heyde, deputy director of AWI’s government and legal affairs department. “This action shows the true nature of some elected officials — that they are more concerned about helping special interests than doing what they were elected to do.”
November 6, 2011 – Preferring to deal in facts, we prefer not to editorialize about personalities. However, sometimes a public figure will say something so revealing about their motives and ethical beliefs that it suddenly shines a light into motives that had never seen light.
We are, of course, referring to the heretofore enigma that was Sue Wallis, WY state representative and self-appointed scientist, veterinarian, medical doctor and omnipotent master of all aspects of horses and their welfare.
In recent years, Sue Wallis has effectively galvanized the pro-horse slaughter movement and become its undisputed leader. As she has accomplished this, she has become ever more vitriolic in her attacks against those she sees as “animal rights extremists”, blaming them for all manner problems facing the horse industry, and immediately proclaiming that any evidence emerging to the contrary is a lie.
This is your premium equine online magazine portal, news aggregator and THE place
to list your horse-related equestrian events and advertise your equine
supplies, services, products, horses, ponies, equipment and target the Southern
USA. We are constantly enhancing HorsesintheSouth.com to be better and better
for you!
Urgent calls are needed to protect equine welfare in the state of Illinois. Please contact your Illinois State Representative to help preserve the 2007 Illinois ban on horse slaughter, which ultimately resulted in the closure of the last remaining horse slaughter plant in the United States.
February 3, 2012 – Chicago (EWA) – A poll conducted in January by Lake Research Partners for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) found that 80% of Americans are strongly opposed to horse slaughter. The highly respected research group based its survey on 1,008 voters giving the results a 3% margin of error. The poll found opposition was consistent across all sectors, including horse owners.
Washington, DC (January 23, 2012) – Some politicians in Washington feel that restarting a horse slaughter industry on American soil is a good idea. We’d like to offer a small window into how the horse slaughter industry currently operates, as shady players make deals amongst themselves while duping innocent people into giving up their horses to be butchered. Read on…
January 16, 2012 – Chicago (EWA) – The Equine Welfare Alliance (EWA) children’s letter writing campaign to end horse slaughter, first announced on January 5th, has now received the support of The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) Humane Education Committee.
January 6, 2012 – Chicago (EWA) – Jo-Claire Corcoran of the Equine Welfare Alliance’s Research Team has launched a children’s letter writing campaign to end the slaughter of American horses. Canadian partners have launched a parallel campaign aimed at stopping horse slaughter in Canada.
Recently a billboard was put up in Palm Beach County regarding the issue of horse slaughter and specifically against horse slaughter. Pure Thoughts Inc. Horse Rescue stands against horse slaughter and always will; it is a horrific end for a horse’s life; our goal and mission has always been and always will be the welfare of the horses.
January 1, 2012 – Chicago (EWA) – Equine Welfare Alliance (EWA) launched a major campaign on December 30 to expose the underhanded move by Rep. Jack Kingston (GA) and Sens. Kohl (WI) and Blunt (MO) that reinstated horse inspections and opened the way for horse slaughter to return to US soil.
Chicago (EWA) – A six month investigation by the EWA and other animal investigation organizations has finally determined the predominant source of abandoned horses in the Southwestern US. The findings show that most or all of more than 5,000 horses a year are being abandoned after being rejected for slaughter at the Mexican border.
Washington, D.C. (November 15, 2011) – It would appear that some in Congress are all talk when it comes to seriously reducing federal spending and decreasing the size of government. Despite overwhelming objections from the American public and the horse community, and despite Congress’ own supposed belief in fiscal restraint, the fate of America’s horses was undermined by three Members of Congress and their staffs behind closed doors this week. For years, an amendment to the annual Agriculture Appropriations bill has prevented tax dollars from being used to “inspect” horse slaughter facilities in the U.S. The House of Representatives voted this year to again include it in the Fiscal Year 2012 Agriculture Appropriations bill, but three members of the Conference Committee, Representative Jack Kingston (R-GA), Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), and Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), removed it from the final bill. A fourth member of the Conference Committee, Representative Sam Farr (D-CA), was the lone objector.
November 6, 2011 – Preferring to deal in facts, we prefer not to editorialize about personalities. However, sometimes a public figure will say something so revealing about their motives and ethical beliefs that it suddenly shines a light into motives that had never seen light.
