Wild Horse Protection Bill Passes House Committee

[NanciK]

Legislation to outlaw the commercial sale and slaughter of America's wild horses was passed out of the House Natural Resources Committee yesterday (March 7).

H.R. 249 seeks to restore permanent federal protections for wild horses and burros from sale and slaughter for human consumption overseas. The longstanding protections were removed by a rider added to an omnibus spending bill by former U.S. Senator Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) in late 2004.

In Congress' last session, an amendment to protect wild horses was shepherded through by U.S. Reps. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) and Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) and passed in a 249-159 vote.

Reps. Rahall and Whitfield introduced H.R. 249 in January 2007 to reinstate protections permanently.

[cvl]

Thank you for posting that NanciK!

This is a copy of an email that I received:

"Wild Horse Protection Bill Approved by Committee
March 7, 2007
CONTACT: Allyson Ivins Groff, 202-226-9019

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Legislation to reinstate a ban on the commercial sale and senseless slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and burros was approved by Members of the House Natural Resources Committee today, advancing the
restoration of more than 30 years of federal policy protecting the iconic wild horses that roam our nation's vast public lands.

"Horses have long been a living symbol of the American West. When Americans picture the West, I highly doubt they envision wild horses being rounded up and sent to commercial slaughterhouses to be processed into cuisine for foreign diners. I am pleased that this Committee recognizes the irreplaceable value that Americans place on our wild horses," said U.S. Rep. Nick J. Rahall, Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and the chief sponsor of the legislation.

H.R. 249, which has received bipartisan support, will restore the
prohibition on the sale and slaughter of wild horses and burros that was eliminated by a provision inserted into the Fiscal Year 2005 omnibus appropriations bill. Enacted in 1971, the original law directed the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service to enforce the protection of wild horses on public lands.

The current policy fails to recognize the fact that humane alternatives to slaughter do exist. Federal agencies have the authority to take measures such as adoption, sterilization, relocation, or placement with qualified individuals and organizations.

Similar legislation was introduced by Rahall and successfully passed by the House in 2005 and 2006, but those bills were not ultimately signed into law.

"It is our duty to stop this senseless and inhumane policy to prevent more wild horses from being rounded up and slaughtered as a result of an ill-advised and misguided federal policy. We owe no less to this powerful, lasting symbol of the American frontier and our nation's spirit," Rahall
said.
Bottom of Form 1

Karen A. Sussman
President, ISPMB
PO Box 55
Lantry, SD 57636-0055
Tel: [phone]
Cell: 605.365.6991
Saving America's Wild Horses and Burros since 1960"