LOMPOC, Calif. , May 27, 2022
/PRNewswire/ -- Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation on
Friday thanked House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
Frank Pallone (D-NJ) for his support
of bills to ban horse slaughter and soring and urged him to
schedule a markup before the full committee as quickly as
possible.
"Horse slaughter is wholly un-American and
needs to end with the passage of the bipartisan SAFE Act."
The Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce on Thursday
held a hearing on the Save America's Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act,
H.R. 3355, and the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, H.R.
5441. The subcommittee is chaired by the SAFE Act's sponsor, Rep.
Jan Schakowsky (D-IL).
The SAFE Act would permanently ban horse slaughter in
the United States as well as the
sale and export of American horses for purposes of slaughter. The
PAST Act would expand regulation and enforcement of the soring of
horses to produce higher gaits that may cause lameness, pain and
distress.
Both bills received strong support with little opposition during
Thursday's hearing.
"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 (RTF), a national nonprofit wild
horse and burro advocacy organization.
"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," DeMayo
continued. "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."
Both bills enjoy strong bipartisan support: the SAFE Act with
215 cosponsors and the PAST Act with 256 cosponsors. More than 80
percent of voters consistently say that they oppose horse slaughter
in opinion polls.
The next step for both pieces of legislation is receiving a
"markup" before the full House Energy and Commerce Committee.
A markup is when the Committee debates, amends and votes on
legislation before the Committee before sending it to the floor for
a vote by the full House.
RTF has long been a supporter of ending horse slaughter and
soring. Its work on ending horse slaughter dates back two
decades.
"Americans have an unwavering bond with the descendants of the
horses that have helped build our country and shape our culture,"
DeMayo said. "Horse slaughter is the ultimate betrayal of that
bond."
Since the last horse slaughter plant inside the United States closed in 2007, Congress has
consistently supported language in annual Agriculture
Appropriations bills blocking horse slaughter. This de facto ban
does nothing to protect thousands of American horses shipped to
foreign slaughterhouses each year, however.
"More than 1.6 million American horses — including an unknown
number who once roamed freely on our public lands – have been
shipped to foreign slaughterhouses since the last such plant in
the United States closed in 2007,"
DeMayo said. "Wild horses that once roamed freely on our public
lands, pets, racehorses, workhorses — no American horse deserves to
be shipped to an inhumane death in a foreign slaughterhouse.
"The national effort to end this practice began in Congress 21
years ago, so we call on everyone to join in ending this once and
for all. Horse slaughter is wholly un-American and needs to end
with the passage of the bipartisan SAFE Act."
Last year, 23,431 American horses were shipped to Mexican and
Canadian slaughterhouses.
Among them were an unknown number of once-federally protected
wild horses and burros. Wild equines are placed at risk of being
sold to slaughter after being captured and removed from their
rightful rangelands by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S.
Forest Service (USFS).
While Congress has repeatedly barred BLM and USFS from selling
captured equines without restrictions against slaughter, wild
horses and burros lose their federal protections and are no longer
tracked by the government when title is passed to a buyer or
adopter. A BLM program created in 2019 has put more wild horses and
burros at risk by giving $1,000 to
adopters.
More than 90 percent of horses – domestic and wild – exported
for slaughter are in good condition, according to a U.S. Department
of Agriculture study. Because American horses are not raised to be
food, they are routinely given dozens of veterinary medications
unsafe for humans.
Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation (RTF)
is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to wild horse
preservation through sanctuary, education, conservation, and
advocacy since 1998. It also operates the American Wild Horse
Sanctuary at three California
locations, caring for more than 450 wild horses and burros. Follow
us on Facebook,
Twitter, and Instagram for
updates about wild horses and burros on the range and at our
sanctuary.
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SOURCE Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation