Tag: Humane Society of the United States

Tradition Keeps “Suicide” Horse Race Alive

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(CBS News) This weekend, as it has for nearly 80 years, the rodeo in Omak, Washington will attract thousands of residents and tourists to its city to watch up to 20 jockeys and their horses sprint down a steep embankment and into the water.

Fans of the “World Famous Suicide Race” call it an adrenaline-pumping tradition that brings the community together. Animal rights activists and others, however, cringe watching the stallions plummet into the river down a 210-foot-long, 62-degree slope called Suicide Hill, the dust kicking up behind them as onlookers cheer.

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Defendant in Horse Soring Case gets Probation

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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — One of four men who pleaded guilty to soring Tennessee walking horses will not face more jail time.

According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press (http://bit.ly/MhiyXN ), John Mayes was sentenced Monday to the time he has already served and ordered to write an article about horse soring. Soring is a banned practice of using chemicals and chains to train horses to perform high-stepping gaits for shows and competitions.

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New Jersey Senate Passes Legislation to Ban Horse Slaughter 35 to 4

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The Humane Society of the United States applauds the New Jersey Senate for passing A.2023/S.1976, legislation that prevents the slaughter of horses for human consumption. The bill was approved by an overwhelming, bi-partisan majority vote of 35 to 4. It was introduced in the Assembly by Assemblyman Ronald Dancer, R- Cream Ridge and in the Senate by Sen. Raymond J. Lesniak, D-Union.

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USDA Finalizes Regulations to Strengthen Enforcement of the Horse Protection Act

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the release of its final rule requiring uniform mandatory minimum penalties for violations of the federal Horse Protection Act. USDA-certified horse industry organizations operate alongside the USDA to enforce the Horse Protection Act by conducting inspections at Tennessee Walking Horse competitions. The final rule also clarifies that the agency can decertify a horse industry organization for any failure to comply with the regulations.

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Stronger Federal Rule Announced to Impose Penalties against Horse Soring

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The abuse of Tennessee walking horses has been in the news since The HSUS released video footage of one of the industry’s top trainers striking a horse in the face with a wooden handle and pouring injurious chemicals onto the feet of a horse. It was four decades ago that Congress passed the Horse Protection Act to prevent and criminalize “soring” and other abuses of horses. Tennessee state representative Janis Sontany wrote in a column in The Tennessean on Sunday: “Soring has been a well-kept dirty secret in this industry and it’s time for this nonsense to end.”

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Abuses Are Rampant in Tennessee Walking Horse Industry

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Shelbyville Farm Center division manager Joe Green, Sr. told The Tennessean, in a story published today, that last Wednesday night’s report on ABC’s Nightline exposing illegal training practices within the show world for Tennessee walking horses painted “a bad picture.” “The good guys have tried so hard to make it right, then that bad guy comes along and tries to ruin it for everybody.”

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Saving Animals Through Advocacy

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Few causes are able to unite people such as Lorenzo Borghese from ABC’s The Bachelor, actors Bo Derek and John Corbett, school children and animal welfare organizations, but all of these people and groups got together last week to participate in the “Horses on the Hill” event on Capitol Hill. The ASPCA was proud to co-host, along with the Animal Welfare Institute and The Humane Society of the United States, this event in which we publicly urged legislators to stop our nation’s horses from being slaughtered at home or abroad.

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