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Habitat for Horses Action Alert

Keep Texas Horses Safe - Action Needed for Texas Legislation

Texas horses are once again in need of our aid. A number of bills are in
need of our attention. The focus is on SB 911 and HB2543 with the potential
to bring horse slaughter back to Texas. We need your help to keep that from
happening. Also attention is need for HB2328 with the potential to improve
current animal cruelty laws in.

Read on for further details.

Willie Nelson Speaks Out About Texas Legislation

"The last place in the world I thought would ever support horse slaughter is
my home state," said country music legend Willie Nelson of Luck, Texas. "No
other animal symbolizes the spirit of Texas better than the horse. This is
why opposition to horse slaughter is so strong in Texas. We are aware of the
overwhelming cruelty horses face on the trip to the slaughterhouse, and we
do not mistake slaughter for euthanasia."

Early this year, a federal appellate court ruled that a 1949 Texas statute
prohibits slaughtering horses for human consumption. However, just last
week, the state Senate passed an amendment to legalize horse slaughter.
Ironically, the sponsor of the amendment didn't even tell his colleagues
what the amendment was, he called it something entirely different.

Nelson noted that "since the Bills introduced by the horse slaughter plants
to legalize horse slaughter in Texas had gone nowhere, the pro-horse
slaughter lobby realized that they could not legalize horse slaughter
through normal legislative channels, so they reverted to this backup
strategy of amending other legislation."

The slaughterhouses and their few supporters claim that by closing these
Texas based foreign-owned plants horses will face a far more cruel trip to
Mexico. But we know they are the ones who are subjecting the horses to this
fate.

Opposition to horse slaughter is very strong. A 2003 Texas poll showed
that 72 percent of Texans oppose horse slaughter for human consumption, and
77 percent opposed changing the state law. A nationwide poll found similar
numbers in support for ending horse slaughter.

"Now is the time for Texans and all American's to call the Texas legislature
and express their support for keeping horse slaughter illegal in Texas,"
urged Nelson. "I call on our legislators to listen to the will of Texans.
Legislators should oppose any amendment or bill that would attempt to
legalize the killing of horses for human consumption."

An Update on HB 2328

The bill was passed out of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee. The new
Texas Animal Cruelty bill will go before the full Senate for a vote shortly.
Please call your State Senator today and urge him/her to vote in favor of HB
2328.

Thanks to the Texas Humane Legislative Network and the efforts of everyone
that called, faxed and emailed, the changes we fought against, like the law
allowing horse tripping, have been removed. Those items that had previously
been removed, such as the section on "cruelly confined, were added back in,
plus for the first time ever, "torture" is clearly defined, adding to our
ability to aid law enforcement in prosecuting these cases.

We're only two steps away from passing a greatly improved Animal Cruelty
Statute for Texas. Please help us get through the home stretch by calling
your Senator and asking that this bill be passed.

The list of Senators and their contact information is listed at the end of
this notice. Please contact them today.

SB 911 Amendment Stripped

As you know, Texas Senator Hegar of Katy tried a backdoor tactic of adding
language onto Senate Bill 911 allowing for horse slaughter to be legal in
Texas. The actual bill was a simple bill allowing for the continued
operation of the Texas Animal Health Commission. Hegar's amendment was added
on after the bill had cleared.

We have every reason to believe that the pro-slaughter folks will continue
to try attaching amendments to various bills, both ignoring the current law
and the will of the people of this state. The current bill will be in the
Calendar's Committee (the committee that sends bills to the floor for
votes). We need to contact all the members of the committee and ask that SB
911 NOT be sent to the floor for a final vote!

Please see the contact list for the House Committee on Calendars below:

House Committee on Calendars

Beverly Woolley (R), Chair
Dist. 136 - Harris (part)

Capitol Office: GS.2
Capitol Phone: [phone]
Capitol Fax: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Norma Chávez (D), Vice Chair
Dist. 76 - El Paso (part)

Capitol Office: GN.12
Capitol Phone: [phone]
Capitol Fax: [phone]
Toll Free: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Dan Branch (R)
Dist. 108 - Dallas (part)

Capitol Office: E2.322
Capitol Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Myra Crownover (R)
Dist. 64 - Denton (part)

Capitol Office: E2.508
Capitol Phone: [phone]
Capitol Fax: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Dawnna M. Dukes (D)
Dist. 46 - Travis (part)

Capitol Office: E1.504
Capitol Phone: [phone]
Capitol Fax: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Gary Elkins (R)
Dist. 135 - Harris (part)

Capitol Office: E1.408
Capitol Phone: [phone]
Capitol Fax: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Ryan Guillen (D)
Dist. 31 - Duval, Starr, Webb (part), Zapata

Capitol Office: E2.210
Capitol Phone: [phone]
Capitol Fax: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Mike Hamilton (R)
Dist. 19 - Hardin, Newton, Orange (part)

Capitol Office: E2.310
Capitol Phone: [phone]
Capitol Fax: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Larry Taylor (R)
Dist. 24 - Galveston (part)

Capitol Office: E2.610
Capitol Phone: [phone]
Capitol Fax: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Sylvester Turner (D)
Dist. 139 - Harris (part)

Capitol Office: 1N.8
Capitol Phone: [phone]
Capitol Fax: [phone]
Toll Free: [phone]

Corbin Van Arsdale (R)
Dist. 130 - Harris (part)

Capitol Office: E2.810
Capitol Phone: [phone]
Capitol Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Clerk: Amy Ehlert
Capitol Office: E2.140
[phone]

Texas Senate

The mailing address for all Senators in Austin is:

P.O. Box 12068
Austin, Texas 78711-2068

Phone, fax and email are below:

Senator Phone / Fax Email

Kip Averitt (R) [phone] / 475-3729 [e-mail]
Kenneth "Kim" Brimer (R) [phone] / 475-3745
[e-mail]
John J. Carona (R) [phone] / 463-3135
[e-mail]
Robert F. Deuell (R) [phone] / 463-7202
[e-mail]
Robert Duncan (R) [phone] / 463-2424
[e-mail]
Kevin P. Eltife (R) [phone] / 475-3751
[e-mail]
Craig Estes (R) [phone] / 463-8874 [e-mail]
Troy Fraser (R) [phone] / 475-3732 [e-mail]
Mario Gallegos (D) [phone] / 463-0346
[e-mail]
Chris Harris (R) [phone] / 463-7003
[e-mail]
Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa (D) [phone] / 463-0229
[e-mail]
Mike Jackson (R) [phone] / 475-3727 [e-mail]
Kyle Janek (R) [phone] / 463-0639 [e-mail]
Eddie Lucio (D) [phone] / 463-0061 [e-mail]
Jane Nelson (R) [phone] / 463-0923 [e-mail]
Robert Nichols (R) [phone] / 463-1526
[e-mail]
Steve Ogden (R) [phone] / 463-5713 [e-mail]
Dan Patrick (R) [phone] / N/A
[e-mail]
Kel Seliger (R) [phone] / 475-3733 [e-mail]
Florence Shapiro (R) [phone] / 463-7579
[e-mail]
Eliot Shapleigh (D) [phone] / 463-0218
[e-mail]
Carlos I. Uresti (D) [phone] / 463-1017
[e-mail]
Leticia Van de Putte (D) [phone] / 463-2114
[e-mail]
Kirk Watson (D) [phone] / 463-5949 [e-mail]
Jeff Wentworth (R) [phone] / 463-7794
[e-mail]
Royce West (D) [phone] / 463-0299 [e-mail]
Tommy Williams (R) [phone] / 463-6373
[e-mail]
Judith Zaffirini (D) [phone] / 475-3738
[e-mail]

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Subject: VERY IMPORTANT TEXAS NEEDS HELP NOW!!!



Hey all here is a letter that can be emailed and the email addresses that can be copied and pasted into your address bar. Please add your name and contact information to the letter. Thanks!!!



[e-mail];[e-mail];[e-mail];[e-mail]; [e-mail];[e-mail];[e-mail];[e-mail]; [e-mail];[e-mail];[e-mail]



Members of the House Calendar Committee:



Please do not pass SB 911 to the floor for a vote. An amendment to legalize horse slaughter will be attached to this bill if it goes to vote. Horse slaughter is illegal in Texas and has been since 1949. Please keep it that way.



The amendment is an obvious attempt to legalize horse slaughter in Texas without going through the normal channels that legislation goes through, so that a fair and honest debate could be had! It's clear that if that happens, horse slaughter wouldn't be legalized. Texans don't want it, period.



Representative, do not be a part of this underhanded and disrespectful treatment of Texas residents! NO amendments to any bills that would legalize horse slaughter for human consumption!!!



Stop SB 911.



Thank you,

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WITH ONLY ELEVEN DAYS LEFT IN THE TEXAS LEGISLATIVE SESSION, The TEXAS horse slaughter plants have one last chance to legalize horse slaughter in Texas . To do this, they must get SB 911 to the House floor so they can ADD a pro-slaughter amendment TO it.

To stop this ACTION, we must kill SB 911 in the House Calendars Committee and we must do it NOW!

ONLY TWO DAYS AGO - THE ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE BANNED HORSE SLAUGHTER, CLOSING THE ONLY REMAINING HORSE SLAUGHTER PLANT IN THE UNITED STATES. HELP US JOIN ILLINOIS AND THE REST OF THE COUNTRY WITH PERMANENTLY BANNING HORSE SLAUGHTER IN TEXAS!

PLEASE CONTACT EACH MEMBER OF THE CALENDARS COMMITTEE TODAY AND URGE THEM TO KILL SB 911.

Their contact information is below:

House Rep. Email (512) Phone / Fax
Dan Branch (R) [e-mail] 463-0367 / 322-9935
Norma Ch�vez (D) [e-mail] 463-0622 / 478-6755
Myra Crownover (R) [e-mail] 463-0582 / 463-0471
Dawnna M. Dukes (D) [e-mail] 463-0506 / 463-7864
Gary Elkins (R) [e-mail] 463-0722 / 472-5610
Ryan Guillen (D) [e-mail] 463-0416 / 463-1012
Mike Hamilton (R) [e-mail] 463-0412 / 463-1915
Larry Taylor (R) [e-mail] 463-0729 / 474-2398
Sylvester Turner (D) [e-mail] 463-0554 / 463-8380
Corbin Van Arsdale (R) [e-mail] 463-0661 / 463-4130
Beverly Woolley (R) [e-mail] 463-0696 / 463-9333



THANK YOU.


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