Post by bryn on Jan 5, 2007 22:31:52 GMT -8
News from the 110th Session of Congress now in session! And they're off.....
Slaughter Bill Ban On Wild Horses Introduced Today
by: Press Release
January 05 2007 Article # 8418
A bill to restore the 34-year ban on the commercial sale and slaughter
of America's wild, free-roaming horses and burros (H.R. 249) was
introduced today (Jan. 5) by U.S. House of Representatives Nick Rahall
(D-W.Va.) and Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.). Similar legislation was passed
unanimously last May as an amendment to the House Interior
Appropriations bill, but stripped from the final bill in a House-Senate
conference committee. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
commends the representatives for taking quick action to make this one of
their top priorities of the new Congress.
A bill to permanently ban the sale and transport of all American
horses--the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act , also co-sponsored
by Reps. Rahall and Whitfield--passed the House by a margin of 263 to
146 last September, but failed to get a vote in the Senate before
adjourning. Legislation to ban horse slaughter is expected to be
introduced soon in the House and Senate.
"The slaughtering of America's horses is a betrayal of our
responsibility to animals who are symbols of the American spirit," said
Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the HSUS. "We're grateful to
Representatives Rahall and Whitfield for their tireless efforts to help
bring an end to the misery and suffering of these iconic and majestic
animals and we pledge to work with them until we put the foreign-owned
slaughterhouses out of business."
Today's actions seek to restore the federal protections for wild horses
and burros from sale and slaughter for human consumption overseas. Wild
horses and burros had been protected from commercial sale and slaughter
since the passage of the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of
1971. The longstanding protections for wild horses were removed by a
controversial rider slipped into an omnibus spending bill by former U.S.
Senator Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) in late 2004. Burns was defeated in the
2006 elections.
"Horses are an integral part of the tapestry of this country, and
Americans have always championed their survival and expect they will be
protected," Rep. Rahall said. "The time has long since passed to restore
the prohibition on the sale and slaughter of wild free-roaming horses
and burros, and I urge the Congress to heed the will of the American
public and respond to common decency by supporting this legislation. We
owe no less to these living symbols of the American West."
"In this country, horses are raised as work, sport, and companion
animals and have never been part of the food chain here," said Rep.
Whitfield. "The industry claims banning slaughter will lead to a
proliferation of abandoned and neglected horses and that horses being
sent to slaughter are old and unwanted. Nothing could be further from
the truth. Less than 1% of the total horse population is sent to
slaughter, a percentage easily absorbed. Furthermore, we must remember
that a large number of these horses are stolen and most certainly are
not unwanted. I look forward to working with Chairman Rahall to pass
this legislation and restore the BLM policy that has served us well for
the past 34 year."
The HSUS continues to work toward a permanent ban on horse slaughter
with the support of members of Congress, the National Show Horse
Registry, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, National
Steeplechase Association, Churchill Downs, and the majority of Americans.
Here's the link:
www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=8418
Slaughter Bill Ban On Wild Horses Introduced Today
by: Press Release
January 05 2007 Article # 8418
A bill to restore the 34-year ban on the commercial sale and slaughter
of America's wild, free-roaming horses and burros (H.R. 249) was
introduced today (Jan. 5) by U.S. House of Representatives Nick Rahall
(D-W.Va.) and Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.). Similar legislation was passed
unanimously last May as an amendment to the House Interior
Appropriations bill, but stripped from the final bill in a House-Senate
conference committee. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
commends the representatives for taking quick action to make this one of
their top priorities of the new Congress.
A bill to permanently ban the sale and transport of all American
horses--the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act , also co-sponsored
by Reps. Rahall and Whitfield--passed the House by a margin of 263 to
146 last September, but failed to get a vote in the Senate before
adjourning. Legislation to ban horse slaughter is expected to be
introduced soon in the House and Senate.
"The slaughtering of America's horses is a betrayal of our
responsibility to animals who are symbols of the American spirit," said
Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the HSUS. "We're grateful to
Representatives Rahall and Whitfield for their tireless efforts to help
bring an end to the misery and suffering of these iconic and majestic
animals and we pledge to work with them until we put the foreign-owned
slaughterhouses out of business."
Today's actions seek to restore the federal protections for wild horses
and burros from sale and slaughter for human consumption overseas. Wild
horses and burros had been protected from commercial sale and slaughter
since the passage of the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of
1971. The longstanding protections for wild horses were removed by a
controversial rider slipped into an omnibus spending bill by former U.S.
Senator Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) in late 2004. Burns was defeated in the
2006 elections.
"Horses are an integral part of the tapestry of this country, and
Americans have always championed their survival and expect they will be
protected," Rep. Rahall said. "The time has long since passed to restore
the prohibition on the sale and slaughter of wild free-roaming horses
and burros, and I urge the Congress to heed the will of the American
public and respond to common decency by supporting this legislation. We
owe no less to these living symbols of the American West."
"In this country, horses are raised as work, sport, and companion
animals and have never been part of the food chain here," said Rep.
Whitfield. "The industry claims banning slaughter will lead to a
proliferation of abandoned and neglected horses and that horses being
sent to slaughter are old and unwanted. Nothing could be further from
the truth. Less than 1% of the total horse population is sent to
slaughter, a percentage easily absorbed. Furthermore, we must remember
that a large number of these horses are stolen and most certainly are
not unwanted. I look forward to working with Chairman Rahall to pass
this legislation and restore the BLM policy that has served us well for
the past 34 year."
The HSUS continues to work toward a permanent ban on horse slaughter
with the support of members of Congress, the National Show Horse
Registry, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, National
Steeplechase Association, Churchill Downs, and the majority of Americans.
Here's the link:
www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=8418