Wild Horse group applauds support of slaughter ban bill
by Katie Pfaff
Nonprofit, the Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation group, has thanked supporters of the SAFE Act, and called for its movement toward passage. The Save America’s Forgotten Equines Act or HR 3355 and Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act or HR 5441 would outlaw horse slaughter and export for slaughter and would regulate and enforce against the practice of soring, or inflicting pain to increase the gait movement of horses.
The two bills were discussed in a hearing of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce. SAFE’s sponsor, Jan Schakowsy of Illinois, chairs the subcommittee. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, who is chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has supported the bill. The next step for the legislation is debate and amendments to the bill during a full hearing with the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
“We're grateful to the bills' sponsors, Reps. Jan Schakowsky, (D-IL) and Vern Buchanan (R-FL) for SAFE and Reps. Steve Cohen (D-TN) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) for PAST, for their efforts to advance these important bills and for the support of Chairman Pallone,” said Neda DeMayo, president of Return to Freedom. "Two years ago, however, the SAFE Act had a similar strong subcommittee hearing only to be denied a full committee markup and so the bill died at the end of the last Congress. We strongly urge Chairman Pallone to continue the positive momentum behind these bills by scheduling a markup before the full committee as soon as possible.”
More than an estimated 23,000 horses and burros were shipped to Canada or Mexico for slaughter. About 1.6 million American horses have been exported for slaughter since the last domestic slaughterhouse was closed in 2007, according to RTF.
The ASPCA also testified in support of the two bills.
"Congress voted to ban horse slaughter well over a decade ago by large bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate and acted more than 4 decades ago to end the cruel practice of horse soring, but legal loopholes have allowed American equines to be exported to other countries for slaughter, and horse soring to persist largely due to industry self-policing," Katie Kraska, director of federal legislation for the ASPCA. "The ASPCA is committed to ensuring all equines have good welfare and we are working resolutely to provide support for horses in need, but we cannot succeed while the slaughter pipeline remains open because it directly impedes the rehoming of horses. Congress must act swiftly to finally close these loopholes by passing the SAFE Act and PAST Act to keep our equine athletes, work partners, and trusted friends safe."
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