Information supplied by the Equine Welfare Alliance
John Holland uses Science and Fact to Debunk Wallis Farce
August 3, 2012
To: Secretary Tom Vilsack
Re: Sue Wallis Petition
I am writing you today on behalf of the Equine Welfare Alliance, our member organizations and individual members to clarify the misinformation and blatant disregard for food safety laws provided in the petition submitted by Sue Wallis.
First and foremost, slaughter should not be used for any purpose other than food production. It is very clear that Ms. Wallis intends to use horse slaughter as a disposal service that will be paid for with our hard earned tax dollars. Our country can ill afford another welfare program.
No animal should be “dumped” into the food chain whether in the US or exported to foreign countries. US horses are not raised or regulated as food animals. There is no traceability and it is a travesty, that the US would even consider sending meat to foreign consumers that is known to be unsafe for human consumption. Two EU FVO reports are available [Mexico and Canada] that not only revealed banned substances in US horses but falsified paperwork stating the horses were drug free. Belgium recently released a notification of Phenylbutazone and Clenbuterol that was found in horse meat exported from Canada. Walk into any barn in the US and you will find some form of Phenylbutazone.
The callous disregard for food safety in US horses has Americans questioning the safety of our own food supply. Can our meat industry afford yet another black eye because of the irresponsibility of an insignificant small percentage of individuals that feel the government should be responsible for their horses? Less than 2% of the horse population is sent to slaughter.
Horse slaughter never ended and is as available [with virtually no regulation] as when he US plants were operating. In the decades that US horses have gone to slaughter, it has not prevented abuse, neglect or abandonment. Not only has it not controlled the horse population but encourages production of excess horses.
Horse slaughter is a symptom of an underlying cause. It’s time to end horse slaughter and start addressing the cause of excess horses. Breeders that continually produce more horses than they can sell need to be held accountable for horses they bring into the population and not expect another government hand-out in addition to the tax breaks they already receive.
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- Law Catches Up with Horse Slaughter Trafficker (rtfitchauthor.com)
- Breaking News: FRER Discovers Documented Efforts to Begin Horse Slaughter in Missouri (rtfitchauthor.com)
- No Progress on Horse Slaughter Plant in Rockville, MO (rtfitchauthor.com)
- Pro-Horse/Anti-Slaughter Testimony – Texas Senate Committee (rtfitchauthor.com)
- Moran Amendment to Ban Horse Slaughter Passes Appropriations Committee (rtfitchauthor.com)
- FOIA Confirms Bouvry’s Plans to Re-Open “Death Row for Horses” (rtfitchauthor.com)
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has divided the western states into six zones and private contractors bid on and received a contract for one or more zones. Each contractor is required by their agreement to capture a minimum amount of wild horses and/or burros in the zone. The MAXIMUM number of wild horses and burros that may be gathered is actually higher than the number that exists on their federally protected Herd Management Areas. The BLM reported that in the 2012 fiscal year there were only 37,294 wild horses and burros remaining on the range, but they have contracted to remove up to 44,000 from bait-trapping alone. So while the BLM feigns interest in humane care and concern for out Wild Horses and Burros, these BLM contracts continue on their fast-moving “managing for extinction”.
