Post by Admin on Jul 25, 2008 11:02:21 GMT -5
Our new bill to address horse slaughter has just been introduced in Congress. We have been waiting and hoping that we could find a way to stop horse slaughter and now we have a new approach that will help us move this bill. Please read more about how you can help pass HR 6598, the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008 and protect horses from slaughter.
Please Take Action!
1. Please Contact Your U. S. Representative in Congress
2. Send HSUS Your Endorsement Letter
3. Share the Background Information on HR 6598, the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008, and help pass HR 6598
1. Your Message to Congress
When contacting your U.S. Representative, it’s important to remember to be polite and respectful. Here is a suggested script for conveying all of the necessary points to the legislative staffer:
"Hello, my name is [your name] and I live in [your town]. As a constituent, I'm calling to urge my Representative to co-sponsor a new important bill: H.R. 6598, the Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, to prevent horses from being cruelly slaughtered for human consumption.”
2. Please send HSUS your endorsement letter
If you have an organization or rescue group, please send HSUS a letter addressed to The Honorable Chairman Conyers endorsing H.R. 6598 on your letterhead. The letter should include:
-information about your group (mission, size, location, history)
-why you support stopping horse slaughter (please do include any personal details or stories about rescued horses)
-a specific statement like: "We thank you for being a champion and introducing this legislation. We endorse H.R. 6598, the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008, and urge you to do everything in your power to pass this critical legislation immediately."
-Again, the letter should be addressed to, but not sent to: The Honorable Chairman Conyers, but please email it to us at kdupps@hsus.org
3. Background on HR 6598, the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008
Conyers-Burton “Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008”
The Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act is Similar to the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503/S. 311). The Conyers-Burton horse bill is similar to H.R. 503, prohibiting the knowing and intentional possession, shipping, transporting, purchasing, selling, delivering or receiving of a horse for slaughter. The Conyers-Burton bill is a simpler approach, prohibiting horse slaughter under the U.S. Code that addresses certain aspects of animal cruelty and abuse (known as “Title 18”). It creates a strong enforcement mechanism to prevent killer buyers from crossing the border with truckloads of horses, but only amends Title 18.
Horses are forced to endure long, agonizing trips to Mexico and Canada. Former race horses, work horses, riding ponies, and carriage horses are purchased by “killer buyers” at regular horse auctions, crammed on trucks designed for cattle, and shipped to Mexico and Canada. Undercover footage by The Humane Society of the United States shows live horses being dragged, whipped, and crammed into trucks in 110 degree heat on their way to a horrific form of slaughter. Terrified, they suffer injuries and are trampled as they are trucked long distances for days at a time without food, water, or rest. Heavily pregnant mares, foals, ponies, injured horses, and horses missing an eye must endure these journeys.
The slaughter process is gruesome and painful. Once at the plant, their suffering intensifies. In Mexico, these horses are stabbed multiple times in the neck with a “puntilla knife” to sever their spinal cords. This procedure does not render the horse unconscious, and is not a stunning method. Rather, it paralyzes the horse, leaving him/her twitching on the ground, unable to move or breathe, and then to die from suffocation or from blood loss and dismemberment.
It's time to end to horse slaughter for human consumption. Past votes on horse slaughter bans in the U.S. Congress demonstrate a strong, bipartisan desire to prohibit horse slaughter for human consumption. States have also acted to end horse slaughter within their borders. In May of 2007, the state of Illinois enacted a ban on horse slaughter, shutting down Cavel International, the last operating plant in the country. The two foreign-owned plants in Texas stopped killing horses for human consumption when the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit determined that a 1949 Texas state law had outlawed horse slaughter for human consumption.
With the U.S. plants closed, the same numbers of horses are transported long distances to Mexico and Canada, making the need for a federal ban on slaughter/export especially urgent.
Grassroots Outreach Coordinator -- Government Affairs
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
519 C Street, NE Washington, DC 20002
202-955-3678 voice
240-731-7372 cell
202-676-2301 fax
Please Take Action!
1. Please Contact Your U. S. Representative in Congress
2. Send HSUS Your Endorsement Letter
3. Share the Background Information on HR 6598, the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008, and help pass HR 6598
1. Your Message to Congress
When contacting your U.S. Representative, it’s important to remember to be polite and respectful. Here is a suggested script for conveying all of the necessary points to the legislative staffer:
"Hello, my name is [your name] and I live in [your town]. As a constituent, I'm calling to urge my Representative to co-sponsor a new important bill: H.R. 6598, the Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, to prevent horses from being cruelly slaughtered for human consumption.”
2. Please send HSUS your endorsement letter
If you have an organization or rescue group, please send HSUS a letter addressed to The Honorable Chairman Conyers endorsing H.R. 6598 on your letterhead. The letter should include:
-information about your group (mission, size, location, history)
-why you support stopping horse slaughter (please do include any personal details or stories about rescued horses)
-a specific statement like: "We thank you for being a champion and introducing this legislation. We endorse H.R. 6598, the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008, and urge you to do everything in your power to pass this critical legislation immediately."
-Again, the letter should be addressed to, but not sent to: The Honorable Chairman Conyers, but please email it to us at kdupps@hsus.org
3. Background on HR 6598, the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008
Conyers-Burton “Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008”
The Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act is Similar to the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503/S. 311). The Conyers-Burton horse bill is similar to H.R. 503, prohibiting the knowing and intentional possession, shipping, transporting, purchasing, selling, delivering or receiving of a horse for slaughter. The Conyers-Burton bill is a simpler approach, prohibiting horse slaughter under the U.S. Code that addresses certain aspects of animal cruelty and abuse (known as “Title 18”). It creates a strong enforcement mechanism to prevent killer buyers from crossing the border with truckloads of horses, but only amends Title 18.
Horses are forced to endure long, agonizing trips to Mexico and Canada. Former race horses, work horses, riding ponies, and carriage horses are purchased by “killer buyers” at regular horse auctions, crammed on trucks designed for cattle, and shipped to Mexico and Canada. Undercover footage by The Humane Society of the United States shows live horses being dragged, whipped, and crammed into trucks in 110 degree heat on their way to a horrific form of slaughter. Terrified, they suffer injuries and are trampled as they are trucked long distances for days at a time without food, water, or rest. Heavily pregnant mares, foals, ponies, injured horses, and horses missing an eye must endure these journeys.
The slaughter process is gruesome and painful. Once at the plant, their suffering intensifies. In Mexico, these horses are stabbed multiple times in the neck with a “puntilla knife” to sever their spinal cords. This procedure does not render the horse unconscious, and is not a stunning method. Rather, it paralyzes the horse, leaving him/her twitching on the ground, unable to move or breathe, and then to die from suffocation or from blood loss and dismemberment.
It's time to end to horse slaughter for human consumption. Past votes on horse slaughter bans in the U.S. Congress demonstrate a strong, bipartisan desire to prohibit horse slaughter for human consumption. States have also acted to end horse slaughter within their borders. In May of 2007, the state of Illinois enacted a ban on horse slaughter, shutting down Cavel International, the last operating plant in the country. The two foreign-owned plants in Texas stopped killing horses for human consumption when the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit determined that a 1949 Texas state law had outlawed horse slaughter for human consumption.
With the U.S. plants closed, the same numbers of horses are transported long distances to Mexico and Canada, making the need for a federal ban on slaughter/export especially urgent.
Grassroots Outreach Coordinator -- Government Affairs
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
519 C Street, NE Washington, DC 20002
202-955-3678 voice
240-731-7372 cell
202-676-2301 fax