Your Help Is Needed to Prevent the Restoration of Horse Slaughter in the U.S.

  • Save
Dear Humanitarian,
This Tuesday, June 26, the House of Representatives will decide whether to block an unnecessary expansion of the federal government, save taxpayer dollars, and – of particular interest to humanitarians – protect horses from being cruelly slaughtered for human consumption.

On June 19, the House Appropriations Committee, by voice vote, approved an amendment to the FY2013 Agriculture Appropriations bill that prevents your tax dollars from being used to fund inspections of horse slaughter facilities. This bipartisan language had been included in every Agriculture Appropriations bill since 2005, until three legislators quietly removed it behind closed doors late last year. Without this important provision, foreign-owned companies will be able to reestablish horse slaughter in the United States at the expense of taxpayers, food safety, and the welfare of horses. In fact, representatives of such companies are already making rounds in the Midwest looking for a plant location.

At a time when Congress is dramatically cutting back federal spending, including $9 million from the agency that would be responsible for slaughter house inspections, and eliminating federal programs, it is disappointing that some in Congress want to revive an unpopular taxpayer-subsidized program that existed solely to support foreign-owned slaughter facilities that throughout their history have inflicted tremendous suffering on American horses.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

The full House of Representatives will vote on the FY2013 Agriculture Appropriations bill this Tuesday, June 26. An amendment may be offered to remove the Committee-approved language prohibiting the USDA from spending tax dollars to inspect horse slaughter facilities. Maintaining the currently included USDA language that expressly defunds inspections of horse slaughter facilities is vital to protecting our horses. It is critical that you call TODAY and urge your Representative to strongly OPPOSE ANY amendment to strike this language and facilitate the restoration of horse slaughter on American soil.

The majority of legislators have supported previous efforts to end horse slaughter. You can see your Representative’s past votes on the issue by clicking here. If your Representative has supported previous amendments defunding horse slaughter inspections, mention that when you call and urge them to stand strong and oppose any effort to remove this funding ban.

You can call the main Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Representative’s office, or visit AWI’s Compassion Index to find your Representative’s voting record and direct number. You can also send them an email directly via the Compassion Index. Take Action and Send Your Representative an Email Directly via the Compassion Index.

Please call your Representative immediately, urging opposition to any attempt to restore horse slaughter. Also be sure to share this Dear Humanitarian eAlert with friends, family and coworkers, and ask them to do the same.

As always, thank you for your continued and critical support on this important issue.

Sincerely,
Chris Heyde
Deputy Director
Government and Legal Affairs

P.S. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates on the action above and other important animal protection news.

Animal Welfare Institute
900 Pennsylvania Ave., SE * Washington, DC 20003
(202) 337-2332 (main) * awi@awionline.org

Leave a Reply