Photo by Irene Vejar.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-ILL., a longtime supporter of a federal ban on horse slaughter, announced this week that she will not seek another term in office.
Schakowsky first cosponsored a bill to ban horse slaughter in 2003. She has served as the lead sponsor when Democrats controlled the House and is a cosponsor of the current version of the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act, reintroduced by Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-FL., in March.
Return to Freedom commends Rep. Schakowsky for her dedication to protecting all animals and many years as the leader to end horse slaughter. We urge her and her colleagues to use her remaining time in office to pass the Save America’s Forgotten Equine (SAFE) Act as a fitting legacy for her career in public service.
The SAFE Act (H.R. 1661) would place a lasting ban on horse slaughter in the United States and bar the export of American horses for slaughter.
This important legislation currently has 116 bipartisan cosponsors and the support of animal welfare and horse industry organizations alike, but we must keep working hard if the bill is to be brought up for a vote.
The last horse slaughterhouse in the United States closed in 2007. RTF and others work to ensure that Congress includes language in annual funding bills that prohibits the U.S. Department of Agriculture from using tax dollars to hire horsemeat inspectors. That has created a year-to-year ban on horse slaughter — but only within U.S. borders.
Last year, 19,915 American equines — including an unknown number born wild on the range as well as domestic horses — were shipped Mexican or Canadian slaughterhouses. The numbers have steadily declined from a high of 166,572 in 2012, but even one is too many.