Posts Tagged ‘Mary Landrieu’

URGENT: Tell Congress to Ban Horse Slaughter Once and for All TODAY!

Posted: April 30, 2013 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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Wild Horse Freedom Federation partners with the ASPCA and others in a CAll TO ACTION!
Tuesday is National Call-In Day

American Horses trucked to Mexico for slaughterNEW: S. 541/H.R. 1094—The Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act

Sponsors:  Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Representatives Patrick Meehan (R-PA) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL).

ASPCA/WHFF Position:  Support

Action Needed:  Call and email your U.S. senators and representative in Washington, D.C., today to ask them to cosponsor the SAFE Act. Please thank them if they are already cosponsors!

Recent revelations that horse meat accidentally entered the food chain overseas have put a media spotlight on the issue of horse slaughter. It seems that horse slaughterers are incapable of preventing horse meat from mingling with their other products. If it can happen there, it can happen here. We’re happy to tell you that Congress is responding.

Just introduced in both chambers of Congress, The Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act will prohibit the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the U.S. and ban their export abroad for that purpose. This bill will protect our nation’s horses from the predatory horse slaughter industry and protect the public from toxic horse meat.

The cruelties associated with horse slaughter are well-documented. Passage of the SAFE Act will not only ensure that predatory horse slaughterers cannot reopen their doors here in the U.S.—it will also stop the trafficking of horses to slaughterhouses over our borders.

As you know, horse slaughter isn’t a humane end for horses. There is no such thing as a commercial horse slaughter plant that does not inflict cruelty on horses. And horse slaughter is not only bad for horses, it’s also bad for people. Meat from American horses is unsafe for human consumption. Our horses are not raised as food animals; they are raised to be companions, sport competitors or work partners. Horses are routinely given medications and other substances that are toxic to humans and are expressly forbidden by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in animals intended for human consumption.

Enacting a ban on horse slaughter has never been more urgent! The USDA has announced its intention to approve a permit allowing a New Mexico slaughterhouse to begin slaughtering horses. Help us prevent this and any other slaughterhouses from butchering even a single American horse.

What You Can Do

Please take a moment to send a polite email to your federal legislators in Congress and urge them to cosponsor the SAFE Act (S. 541/H.R. 1094), a bill to ban the slaughter of American horses for human consumption.

We will automatically sort out for you if your legislator is a cosponsor, so you can thank them if they’ve already taken that step.

For even more impact, make a brief, polite phone call to your representative and senators in DC. Calling is fast, easy and the best way to reach your legislators. Look up your legislators’ names and phone numbers here. Don’t be nervous about calling—it’s easy, fast, and by far the most effective thing you can do! You can use this script when speaking with the receptionist:

“Hi, this is _______ and I am your constituent residing in [town and state]. I’m calling today to urge Representative/Senator _______ to support the SAFE Act, legislation to ban the slaughter of American horses and their export for that purpose abroad. Thank you!”

On behalf of our nation’s horses, thank you for your help!

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Oklahoma Horse Slaughter Plant Would Be Years Away

Posted: March 28, 2013 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Horse Slaughter
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Source: | Yahoo! Contributor Network

Fields, Senate author of HB 1999, explained that should the governor sign the measure into law, any horse slaughter facilities within Oklahoma would likely not be in operation for another two to three years

Oklahoma House Bill 1999 , a measure that would allow horse slaughter in the state but maintains the ban for consuming horse meat in the state won approval from the Senate today and will be making its way to the desk of Republican Gov. Mary Fallin for consideration.

HB 1999, first introduced in the Oklahoma House of Representatives on Feb. 4 and authored by Rep. Skye McNiel , R-District 29, received approval by a vote of 82 to 14 in that legislative body on Feb. 20 and referred to the Senate for consideration. In the Senate, Sen. Eddie Fields , R-District 10, picked up the gauntlet, with a vote on the measure passing by a vote of 32 to 14 yesterday.

Fallin’s office is set to receive HB 1999 in its final form , and NewsOK.com reported that the governor had indicated in the past that she would sign the measure into law. If so, the ban on the slaughter of horses in the Red Man state that’s been in effect for 50 years would be eliminated.

Meanwhile on the federal level, both legislative bodies are working on bi-partisan measures that would outlaw horse slaughter throughout the nation through the Safeguard American Foods Export Act (SAFE Act.) The Senate’s measure is S. 541 , sponsored by Sen. Mary Landrieu , D-La.; the House of Representatives’ measure is H.R. 1094 , sponsored by Rep. Patrick Meehan , R-Pa.

Fields, Senate author of HB 1999, explained that should the governor sign the measure into law, any horse slaughter facilities within Oklahoma would likely not be in operation for another two to three years, according to NewsOK.com. The law would not force horse owners to take their animals to a slaughter facility, but instead provide another option for such owners.

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Oklahoma Lawmakers Vote to Allow Horse Slaughter

Posted: March 27, 2013 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Horse Slaughter
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Source: Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY

The discovery in Europe of horse meat disguised as beef has intensified the debate over the slaughter of horses for food. Oklahoma just voted to allow it, but there are no federal inspectors.

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

The fight over using horses for food grew louder Tuesday when the Oklahoma Legislature voted to allow the operation of horse slaughterhouses.

The issue has taken on greater urgency since horse meat appeared, disguised as beef, in European outposts of Burger King and other restaurants there.

A USA TODAY analysis found that as much as 17% of the horse meat in Europe originated in the United States, even though no horse meat is legally produced here. Unwanted horses are shipped to Canada and Mexico, where they are slaughtered for meat.

Horse meat has been illegal since Congress ended U.S. Department of Agriculture funding for horse slaughterhouse inspections in 2006 at the urging of animal rights activists. That funding prohibition expired in 2011, but horses cannot legally be slaughtered for food because the USDA no longer has trained inspectors.

A bill now in Congress would make it illegal to slaughter horses for food or to ship them out of the country for slaughter. Last year, 166,572 U.S. horses were shipped to Canada and Mexico to be slaughtered for food, according to USDA and Agriculture Canada figures.

“Horses have been raised for sport, transport, security and companionship, but never for slaughter and consumption,” said Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat who introduced the legislation. “There are very few regulations on the drugs given to horses, and we cannot risk introducing dangerously toxic meat into our food supply here at home or abroad. We must stop the slaughter of these beloved animals and protect the public’s health.”

The Oklahoma action ends the state’s 50-year ban on slaughtering horses for human consumption. Gov. Mary Fallin, a Republican, has said she is inclined to sign the bill.

No one in Oklahoma has applied for permission to slaughter horses, and even with the governor’s signature, horse slaughter couldn’t take place without USDA oversight.

State Rep. Skye McNiel, a Republican, said in an e-mail that she introduced the bill as “a much more humane way to treat these animals, to manage the population and to control the neglect that we are seeing when irresponsible owners decide they can no longer take care of their horses.”

Four states — California, Illinois, New Jersey and Texas — ban horse slaughter.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals issued a statement from Nancy Perry, senior vice president for government relations, expressing disappointment “that the Oklahoma legislature would welcome the grisly and predatory horse slaughter industry.”

“The ill-advised legislative gutting of Oklahoma’s law against the sale of horse meat for human consumption could not be more poorly timed, given the strong opposition from the majority of Oklahoma voters and the now well-documented dangers of toxic horse meat for consumers,” she said.

Europeans consumed 119,000 tons of horse meat in 2012, of which 21,250 tons came from U.S. horses slaughtered in Mexico and Canada, according to Keith Dane, director of equine protection with the Humane Society of the United States.

Animal rights groups and horse fanciers argue that horses have never been raised for meat in the United States and that, because they are routinely given drugs such as wormers and phenylbutazone for inflammation, their flesh is unhealthy for people to eat.

“American horses aren’t raised for food, they’re raised for pleasure and competition,” said Stephanie Twining, of the Humane Society of the United States. “In the United States we think of horses as pets and racehorses and celebrities.”

Janine Jacques, of the Equine Rescue Network in Newton, Mass., tries to find homes for unwanted horses, asks, “What are we going to do with 160,000 unwanted horses in the United States?”

Jacques, who teaches equine management at Mount Ida College in Newton, thinks slaughter plants are necessary but that more could be done to reduce the number of animals sent to them. She said, “If we don’t have slaughter as an option, you’re going to see a lot more abused and abandoned horses.”

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URGENT: Tell Congress to Ban Horse Slaughter Once and for All!

Posted: March 15, 2013 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
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Click (HERE) to visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center

unexpected_horse_in_bagging_area_horsemeat_horseburgerNEW: S. 541/H.R. 1094—The Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act

Sponsors:  Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Representatives Patrick Meehan (R-PA) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL).

ASPCA Position:  Support

Action Needed:  Call and email your U.S. senators and representative in Washington, D.C., today to ask them to cosponsor the SAFE Act. Please thank them if they are already cosponsors!

Recent revelations that horse meat accidentally entered the food chain overseas have put a media spotlight on the issue of horse slaughter. It seems that horse slaughterers are incapable of preventing horse meat from mingling with their other products. If it can happen there, it can happen here. We’re happy to tell you that Congress is responding.

Just introduced in both chambers of Congress, The Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act will prohibit the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the U.S. and ban their export abroad for that purpose. This bill will protect our nation’s horses from the predatory horse slaughter industry and protect the public from toxic horse meat.

The cruelties associated with horse slaughter are well-documented. Passage of the SAFE Act will not only ensure that predatory horse slaughterers cannot reopen their doors here in the U.S.—it will also stop the trafficking of horses to slaughterhouses over our borders.

As you know, horse slaughter isn’t a humane end for horses. There is no such thing as a commercial horse slaughter plant that does not inflict cruelty on horses. And horse slaughter is not only bad for horses, it’s also bad for people. Meat from American horses is unsafe for human consumption. Our horses are not raised as food animals; they are raised to be companions, sport competitors or work partners. Horses are routinely given medications and other substances that are toxic to humans and are expressly forbidden by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in animals intended for human consumption.

Enacting a ban on horse slaughter has never been more urgent! The USDA has announced its intention to approve a permit allowing a New Mexico slaughterhouse to begin slaughtering horses. Help us prevent this and any other slaughterhouses from butchering even a single American horse.

What You Can Do
Please take a moment to send a polite email to your federal legislators in Congress and urge them to cosponsor the SAFE Act (S. 541/H.R. 1094), a bill to ban the slaughter of American horses for human consumption.

We will automatically sort out for you if your legislator is a cosponsor, so you can thank them if they’ve already taken that step.

On behalf of our nation’s horses, thank you for your help!

Click (HERE) to visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center
Related Articles

Save the Horses! Three Lawmakers Will Try to Ban Slaughter for Food

Posted: March 13, 2013 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Horse Slaughter
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Source: By of ABC News

“Horses sent to slaughter are often subject to appalling, brutal treatment,”

A trio of U.S. lawmakers is saying “no” to horse meat.

Horse Meat ChartThe U.S. is set to begin slaughtering horses again for the first time in six years, and recent news of Ikea sausages and British Taco Bell beef containing small amounts of horse has raised horse-meat alarm bells among the meat-consuming public.

Congress originally banned horse slaughter in 2006 by defunding USDA’s horse-meat inspectors. But after the ban lapsed in 2011, a lawsuit and industry pressure has forced USDA to start inspecting again, and a company says it expects to open the first slaughterhouse in Roswell, N.M., within the next month and a half.

“These companies must still complete necessary technical requirements and FSIS [the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service] must still complete its inspector training, but at that point, the Department will legally have no choice but to go forward with inspections, which is why we urge Congress to reinstate the ban,” a USDA spokesperson told ABC News.

Enter Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Reps.  Patrick Meehan, R-Pa., and Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.

The three will introduce a bill on Wednesday that would put a stop to the pending horse slaughter.

The Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act, as the House version is dubbed, would not only ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the U.S. but would also prohibit shipping horses outside the U.S. for food slaughter. Unlike the appropriations rider that had prevented horse slaughter until now, the statutory ban would not expire.

The Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals will hold a press conference on Capitol Hill on Wednesday with the three lawmakers, the two groups announced on Tuesday…(CONTINUED)

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Spread the Word: Members Push for Passage of American Horse Slaughter Act

Posted: May 1, 2012 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Horse Slaughter
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An open letter from Senator Mary Landrieu

Bi-Partisan Team Making Progress

Dear friend,

 I held a press conference last Wednesday with members of Congress, celebrities and citizen advocates to push for passage of my legislation, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. If passed, this would prohibit the inhumane killing of American horses for human consumption in the United States and stop the transport of horses across the border to Canada and Mexico for slaughter.

In November 2011, Congress voted not to renew a ban on funding federal inspectors at horse slaughter plants in the U.S., opening the door for a return of horse slaughter to American soil, despite broad opposition by the public across the country. We must permanently end the slaughter of our American horses and seek viable, affordable alternatives. When a horse is old, sick, or can no longer be productive, its owner should provide humane euthanasia. Ninety percent of all horses that die each year are humanely euthanized and/or safely disposed of – this additional 10 percent is not a burden. Horse owners will buy some of these horses and horse rescue organizations will take others. Brutal slaughter is not an appropriate alternative.

 I was pleased to see such bipartisan, bicameral support from my colleagues, including U.S. Senator Scott Brown, R-Mass., and Reps. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., David Rivera, R-Fla., and Jim Moran, D-Va. See below for a full list of those who voiced their support for my legislation last week.

 In case you missed it, read The Advocate’s story on the event here. I have also copied it below.

 All the best,

Horses on the Hill attendees:

  • U.S. Senator Scott Brown, R-Mass.
  • U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky.
  • U.S. Rep. David Rivera, R-Fla.
  • U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va.
  • Actress Bo Derek
  • Lorenzo Borghese from ABC’s The Bachelor
  • Amy and Raelyn Nelson, daughter and granddaughter of singer Willie Nelson
  • Students from Foxcroft School and Madeira School, both in Virginia
  • President of the National Black Farmers Association John Boyd
  • Animal Welfare Institute (AWI)
  • American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
  • Humane Society of the United States
  • Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue
  • Animals’ Angels
  • Seraphim 12 Foundation
  • Racer Alex Brown
  • Nine-year-old Declan Gregg, founder of Children 4 Horses

The Advocate: Horse slaughter prohibition pushed

April 28, 2012, By Jordan Blum

  WASHINGTON — Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., teamed with celebrities Bo Derek and John Corbett on Wednesday to tout her horse slaughter ban legislation during a “Horses on the Hill” event.

Landrieu has repeatedly pushed for a ban on slaughtering the animals for meat that is exported mostly to Europe and Asia. She is upping her efforts now that applications are in the works to open the nation’s first horse slaughterhouses since 2007.

“There’s no humane way to slaughter a horse,” Landrieu said. “Most horses going to slaughter are not old and they’re not sick.”

Expressing a lifelong love of horse riding like her daughter, Mary Shannon Snellings, who was present, Landrieu said she was “horrified” to learn in the past that horse slaughterhouses existed in the U.S.

But now, horses are exported under allegedly poor conditions to Mexico and Canada for slaughter and efforts are under way to open slaughterhouses domestically. About 100,000 horses are estimated to be exported for slaughter a year.

In November, Congress failed to renew a five-year ban on funding federal inspectors at horse slaughter plants in the United States, opening the door for a return of horse slaughter to American soil.

Landrieu’s American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act would prohibit the killing of American horses for human consumption in the U.S. and stop the transport of horses across the border to Canada and Mexico for slaughter.

Actress and anti-slaughter activist Bo Derek said it is “truly obscene” that she is still fighting after 10 years for a ban on the slaughter of animals that provide so much “companionship.”

Landrieu also received bipartisan support Wednesday from Republicans such as Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., and Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky.

Landrieu said the lobbying of the horse industry has prevented Senate and House floor votes on her legislation thus far.

Dave Duquette, president of the pro-slaughter group United Horsemen, said the lack of horse slaughterhouses in the U.S. only leads to a poor market for the value of horses, which forces financially struggling horse owners to abandon their animals or keep them under poor conditions.

“We don’t advocate that everyone needs to slaughter their horse,” Duquette said. “But the option needs to be there.”

Duquette, who said he regularly receives death threats, said there are currently plans for horse slaughterhouses in Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, Oregon and Washington.

“There’s a lot of efforts going on, and I think it’s probably going to happen in the near future,” he said.

A 2011 Government Accountability Office report advised either an outright ban on horse slaughtering or to legalize it, in order to stop the negative side effects of current practices, such as increased horse abandonment, the poor condition of horses exported to be slaughtered elsewhere and the overall decline in the price of horses.

Duquette, a self-described horse trainer, contended it is hypocritical for people to argue that horses must be treated differently when they go home and eat the meat from cows and pigs that were slaughtered.

“What makes them different? They’re not really,” he said. “That argument is emotional, not reality.”

“That argument is ridiculous on its face,” Landrieu said. “Cows are raised for slaughter.”

“We don’t eat our dogs and our horses,” she added.

**Please feel free to share with others who may be interested. Send your feedback by replying to this e-mail, posting on my Facebook Page or Tweeting me.


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Actress Bo Derek joins Sen. Mary Landrieu to push for ban on horse slaughter

Posted: April 26, 2012 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Horse Slaughter
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By Bruce Alpert, Times-Picayune

Big Names Push Against Anti-Horse Agenda

Actress Bo Derek speaks about the importance of passing Sen. Mary Landrieu's American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, which would prohibit the inhumane killing of American horses for human consumption. Photo by Matthew D. R. Lehner, Office of Sen. Mary Landrieu

Washington - Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., brought some celebrity power to the Capitol Wednesday to build support for her legislation that would prohibit inhumane killing of American horses for food. Actress Bo Derek, best known for the 1979 romantic comedy,”10,” and speaking for the Animal Welfare Institute, pushed for passage of the bill. So did Amy Nelson, singer Willie Nelson’s daughter, and Raelyn Nelson, his granddaughter, saying they were speaking on Nelson’s behalf and his love for horses.

Landrieu’s American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act would also stop the transport of horses across the border to Canada and Mexico for slaughter.

“We must continue to open people’s eyes about this appalling practice that is so often hidden from the public,” Derek said at a news conference, surrounded by Landrieu, other lawmakers and citizen lobbyists.

In November 2011, Congress opted not to renew a ban on funding federal inspectors at horse slaughter plants in the United States and Landrieu and other lawmakers opposed to the practice worry it will spur a return to what they say is brutal treatment of horses.

“There are viable, affordable alternatives to slaughter,” Landrieu said. “When a horse is old, sick, or can no longer be productive, its owner should provide humane euthanasia.

“Ninety percent of all horses that die each year are humanely euthanized and/or safely disposed of – this additional 10 percent is not a burden,” Landrieu said. “Horse owners will buy some of these horses and horse rescue organizations will take others. Brutal slaughter is not an appropriate alternative.”

Amy Nelson and Raelyn Nelson issued a statement on behalf of Willie Nelson “We ride horses in America, we don’t eat them. Slaughter is not humane euthanasia. It is not a responsible end of life option for any horse.”

Also speaking was Lorenzo Borghese from ABC’s “The Bachelor.”

“There may be no more special relationship than the one we have with horses,” Borghese said. “The love and loyalty horses have shown people shows no bounds – they have won wars for us, carried us west and built this great country, and have served as companions for our children and our disabled.”

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