Here’s today’s release from HSUS/Front Range Equine Rescue:
November 1, 2013
Efforts to Block Horse Slaughter in the U.S. Will Continue
The Humane Society of the United States will appeal judge’s ruling
Front Range Equine Rescue
A federal judge in the court case regarding horse slaughter in the U.S. has reversed course from her initial ruling and cleared the way for U.S. Department of Agriculture inspections of horse slaughter plants in several states. The Humane Society of the United States will not only appeal the decision, but also work with the states to block the plants from opening in Iowa, Missouri and New Mexico and step up its efforts in Congress to stop the slaughter of American horses — in the states and also in Canada and Mexico.
Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS, said: “Our legislative and legal activities have prevented horse slaughtering on American soil since 2007. With today’s court ruling and the very real prospect of plants resuming barbaric killing of horses for their meat in the states, we expect the American public to recognize the urgency of the situation and to demand that Congress take action. Court fights and state legislative battles have been important, but this is an issue of national importance and scale, and Congress should have an up-or-down vote on the subject.”
Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
According to the Gov site where the anti-slaughter bill is found there are 157 Cosponsors in the House of Representatives more that enough to pass H.R.1094. but very few in the Senate cosponsoring S.541. If there was a up or down vote there might be more Senators voting up than has signed on as cosponsor. I don’t know how many of these senators are up for reelection in 2014 and 2016 but it might be worth their time to do it. This is something that should be tried.
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It is the greatest power we have the power of the vote !
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Since the President is against horse slaughter, you’d think the Senate would support the bill. There was a nationwide Tweetstorm on Friday, I think -But, a lot of voters don’t tweet & many don’t have facebook or much email. We’re going to have to get more active other than blogging (which is great for updates & venting) to stop this atrocity. We need lots of advertising across the country to get people’s attention with real, hardcore facts & graphic images to get people to take it seriously so they will call Congress – they’re obviously not taking the 80% poll seriously in DC – And Congress needs to see what this is really like for the horses -the same way we do.
Hopefully New Mexico’s Attorney General will keep his word, even though the Governor won’t, & obviously, this judge is playing the typical game pass-the-buck game that is sooooooo popular in New Mexico; which has to be the most backward, ignorant, & corrupt state in the nation – I am so ready to get the hell out of here!
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If I am right, the governor may or may not have her hands tied. If the 1997 Update of the IPPC that went into full effect in 2005 is at play, international law has already trumped the 1971 WFRHB Act. It is also possible that she has been informed that the WTO does not require the country of origin to inspect meat produced for consumption in another country.
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Who is the Senate President? What role did he play in the Burns Amendment? Senator Reid will see to it that horses, particularly wild horses and burros, are slaughtered until the last one is dead. The Clinton administration circumvented Congress and the American people by using international treaties, members of the IUCN, executive orders, intergovernmental Presidential advisory councils, and citizen advisory councils rather than let Congress and the American people decide.
It was because the Clinton-Gore-IUCN-Nature-Conservancy-FWS-NPS-FS partnership knew that Congress would not include our wild horses and burros in an invasive, alien species policy that they went around us, the people.
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Congress is incapable of any votes up or down currently.
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IF THE SENATE OR CONGRESS, ETC. ARE NOT GOING TO VOTE AGAINST HORSE SLAUGHTER THEN DON’T VOTE FOR THEM. THAT IS ONE WAY TO GET TO THESE ……….
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This is certainly not the news we were looking for and I’m totaly disgusted and saddened by the ruling! I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised, but still very disappointed in the judges decision. Before making her decision, she should be required to literally view horseslaughter from the beginning to the end. My God, how does she not know the seriousness of it all or doesn’t she even care?! By all means, we cannot give up, because their protection will ultimately be ours, as well. Horses were never bred to be eaten and this process has far too many negative consequences to be approved. We all love and respect these magnificent animals, please everyone, continue to speak out and fight for their right to be free from the brutal business of slaughter. NO horse should ever have to end their life on a slaughterhouse floor!
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Reblogged this on Donkey Whisperer Farm Blog and commented:
Please read and share!
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http://www.judicialwatch.org/
425 Third Street SW
Suite 800
Washington, DC 20024
Phone: 1-888-JW-Ethic
(1-888-593-8442)
Fax: 202-646-5199
Email: info@judicialwatch.org
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email sent: “U.S. District Judge Christina Armijo in Albuquerque-
reverses herself and now allows slaughter to proceed….ummmm…wonder why??”
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Bought and paid for….as usual. This government and all the powers that be, are just unbelievably corrupt. Someone got to the judge and paid them off. The fight goes on, but how many will die before it is won.
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My congresswoman, Republican, opposes horse slaughter, as do our two Senators, Democrat. This is not a partisan issue, but only a matter of who gets bought off. (as a certain judge evidently has been)
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I smell a rat.
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http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/
Congress
The House of Representatives has 435 members, the Senate has 100, and OpenSecrets.org has fundraising profiles for all of them. Use the search box to the right to find the member or congressional candidate you’re interested in. Some of the leaders – and the biggest fundraisers – in Congress are listed below.
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http://horsebackmagazine.com/hb/archives/23423
Call to Action: Opportunity to Protect Meat Industry from HSUS
By Congressman Charlie Stenholm
Friends,
As you know, the issue of horse slaughter has rallied the animal rights crowd together for the last several years. HSUS and its allies have gained substantial traction on the matter this year. First, the Obama Administration submitted a budget to Congress with a prohibition on funding for FSIS inspectors at horse slaughter facilities. Next, the current House and Senate Appropriations Committee versions of the FY 2014 Agriculture Appropriations bill reinstates the funding ban for FSIS inspection of horse slaughter. However, with the state of affairs in the 113th Congress, it is unlikely that the FY 2014 appropriations bill will be enacted as law by the September 30th deadline. Thus, we will likely operate on a Continuing Resolution without a ban on domestic horse slaughter inspection.
With their chances for a legislative victory slipping as the deadline approaches, HSUS has turned to the federal courts to block horse slaughter. On June 28th, FSIS issued a grant of inspection to Valley Meat Co., a Roswell, NM-based equine packing plant. FSIS also issued a grant of inspection to Responsible Transportation, LLC, a Sigourney, IA-based horse slaughter plant. Within five days, HSUS had filed suit in a San Francisco federal court to block FSIS from proceeding with its plans to allow horse slaughter to re-commence in the United States. The case, Front Range Equine Rescue v. Vilsack (No. 1:13-cv-00639-MCA-RHS), has since been transferred to the federal court in Albuquerque, NM.
HSUS argues that the decision to re-commence horse slaughter in the United States constitutes a major federal action and, as such, FSIS was required to conduct an environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Without question, this is a desperate attempt to delay USDA from providing inspectors to the point that the financially-strained horse slaughter plants are forced to shutter. However, HSUS has gotten traction on this argument in the past (see HSUS v. Johanns, 2007 WL 1120404 (D.D.C.)). If HSUS succeeds on this matter, then FSIS will be forced to conduct an environmental assessment (EA) and possibly put together an environmental impact statement (EIS) prior to inspecting horses for slaughter. After FSIS has delivered its EA or EIS, HSUS will have an opportunity to litigate the validity of those documents too. This can draw out the NEPA process to 2 to 5 years.
I am writing you because, no matter what stance your organization takes on the horse slaughter matter, the Front Range Equine Rescue case is important to your constituents. If HSUS is able to succeed on the NEPA argument, what is stopping them from using this same argument to target the next opening or expansion of a beef, swine, or poultry processing facility? The future growth of the animal agriculture industry could be imperiled by an unfavorable outcome in this case.
HSUS is not going to win this case without a fight. By law, DOJ is obligated to defend FSIS in this matter. Furthermore, the proposed horse slaughter plants and the Yakama Nation have intervened in this matter to ensure that they have a say in this litigation.
However, USDA has issued press releases acknowledging that it would prefer to not commence horse slaughter. Secretary Vilsack has opined that he desires an alternative, such as adopting out the annual 150,000-plus supply of unwanted horses
to veterans suffering from PTSD. Based on these statements, I believe USDA would hardly be disappointed if a federal court tied its hands on the horse slaughter matter. And it’s hardly out of the question that a “sweetheart settlement” is in the works in light of what we saw between the EPA and environmental groups in the 2008 CAFO Rule and the Chesapeake Bay TMDL.
Two essential things are missing from this fight: the broader animal ag industry and financial resources. Animal agriculture stands to lose much by remaining on the sidelines in this case. An unfavorable decision on the NEPA matter could mean that HSUS and its allies could burden the next slaughter plant with NEPA-borne bureaucratic red tape that could hinder the industry’s ability to promptly respond to changes in the marketplace.
The current intervenors in this matter are financially strapped and without the option of sending thousands of excess horses to USDA-inspected plants, they neither have the cash flow nor the reserves necessary to carry on an extended battle with HSUS and its barrels of money. These intervenors could certainly use the credibility and resources of your organization on their side.
The next event in the Front Range Equine Rescue case is a preliminary injunction hearing on Friday, August 2nd in New Mexico. After this hearing, the judge will decide whether to enjoin FSIS from inspecting horse slaughter while the NEPA case is pending. Regardless of the outcome on Friday, this case is expected to continue well into next year.
Although the deadline to intervene for participation in this Friday’s preliminary injunction has passed, there is still an opportunity for your organization to participate as an intervener in the case in chief. If you are interested in ensuring that your organization can have a say in this matter and join in the fight against HSUS, please contact me. I would be happy to put you in touch with the folks in our litigation team here at OFW Law.
Charlie Stenholm
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Barack Obama pretended to be an antihorse slaughter president. He and Ken Salazar are interested in eradicating native horse populations. Their intent is NOT to benefit cattle farmers but to benefit oil companies to exploit taxpayer land.
Cattle farmers better wake up and spell the coffee. Horse meat will enter the meat market. Beef will be consider high fat and expensive.
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Boycott the State of New Mexico for allowing this….make it known they are a horse slaughter state…I will not spend one penny in that state nor any other state that allows this…this is disgusting and we should all be appalled at what is going on….
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It’s not a New Mexico issue alone. There are also applications in Missouri, Oklahoma, Iowa and Tennessee. The lawyer for the Missouri company said they were opening today. Does anyone know if they did? http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Lawyer-Mo-horse-plant-to-open-despite-challenges-230531791.html
(I know the Iowa company Responsible Transportation said they are withdrawing but call me skeptical.)
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It seems a bit of a stretch to me for Mr. Stenholm to make the (intellectual?) leap from animals raised intentionally and perpetually for food, and domestic horses, which have not traditionally been raised for food, only eaten by under dire circumstances. I have eaten meat my entire life but have to confess I have lost my taste for it since learning of how precarious and dubious our food safety system has become. The ethical questions are always troubling but moreso for horses, as Temple Grandin has pointed out.
Mr. Stenholm doesn’t address food safety issues here at all, which are an enormous question in the case of domestic horses, virtually all of whom are vaccinated and drugged with a variety of standard veterinary substances, nearly all of which are “not for use in animals to be consumed for food” and which are not typically tested for in the meat processed.
His argument seems weak and ill-informed but designed to bring in more financial interests through a “chicken little” drama, claiming without evidence they will be next.
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As I have said before, I am fairly certain that if the meat is exported according to provisions in the WTO, the safety of the food exported from this country to another is the responsibility of the importing country. If the U.S.D.A. intended to sell this meat in this country, there might be more concern about food safety.
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Anyone know if Rains Meat Co in Missouri started killing horses today? http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Lawyer-Mo-horse-plant-to-open-despite-challenges-230531791.html
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Just disgusting that our VOICES aren’t heard. This is why each and every person needs to get out there on election day. It seems today that no person or animal is safe in this country. Its too bad money talks and bs walks.. Is it any wonder that people around the World laugh at Americans. Congress no longer represents the American people, but the thugs who hold all the purse strings.. I am so utterly disappointed in President Obama as well as our House of Representatives and the Senate. They all make me sick to my stomach!!! I guess more phone calls are in order to try and save our equine friends. To all of you in states where slaughter is a possibility….you guys better get the buses and masses of people to your state capitals because once here, they are like a cancerous disease and will consume everyone. We had Cavel in Illinois and the money spent to get rid of them could have provided care for thousands of horses.. You can bus supporters in for all over the country…just come up with a plan!!!
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