America's
wild, free-roaming horses and burros must be protected from
commercial exploitation and the cruel slaughter industry. In a
tremendous victory on behalf of all horses, the House again passed
an amendment sponsored by Representatives Nick Rahall (D-WV), Ed
Whitfield (R-KY), John Sweeney (R-NY) and John Spratt (D-SC) that
prohibits taxpayer funds from being used to sell or slaughter
America's wild horses.
"This is the fourth vote to end horse slaughter, and yet the full
bill to ban the terrible practice continues to be blocked by two or
three legislators. This ongoing obstruction is symptomatic of what
is wrong with politics today," said Chris Heyde, deputy legislative
director of the Society for Animal Protective Legislation. "We knew
the House of Representatives would continue to listen to the will of
the American people, and now they must end horse slaughter once and
for all."
In late 2004, a rider stripping away the original Wild
Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act’s decades-old protections was
passed without public awareness or Congressional oversight. The new
amendment will effectively stop the Bureau of Land Management from
implementing this reprehensible measure.
"Today, our elected representatives have listened to the truth
about wild horses," Heyde said. "Despite the enormous amount of
misinformation being spread by pro-horse slaughter individuals, the
facts remain clear: wild horses are not to blame for rangeland
destruction, they are not starving to death and that there are far
too few of these national treasures. They deserve to live free on
our public lands, and we must ensure their future welfare."
With the will of the people being heard in the Halls of Congress,
now more than ever, the House and Senate must take the next step in
finally ending the inhumane practice of horse slaughter. The public
must demand passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act
(H.R. 503 and S. 1915)
