Photo taken at RTF’s sanctuary by Emily McGahee.
To take action for America’s horses, see the end of this post.
Rep. Vern Buchanan and 19 of his Republican colleagues recently called on House leadership to include language banning horse slaughter in the Farm Bill.
Buchanan, R-Fla., reintroduced the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act earlier this year. It would place a lasting ban on horse slaughter in the United States and end the shipment of American horses out of the country for slaughter. The bill has 202 cosponsors.
In the letter, Buchanan urged leadership to add the SAFE Act language to the Farm Bill, a massive, five-year package of legislation that funds agriculture, food and related programs.
Buchanan cited a poll that found 83% of Americans support a horse slaughter ban — including 81% in farming and rural communities.
“Not only is horse slaughter inherently inhumane, but it also promotes a predatory industry that harms horse owners and makes rescuing horses more difficult,” Buchanan wrote.
The horse slaughter industry is “built on predatory behavior and fraud that should be put to an end,” he wrote:
“‘Kill buyers’—those who profit from selling horses to slaughter—use several techniques to funnel horses into the
slaughter pipeline. First, they frequently outbid people offering good homes, acquiring horses who otherwise
would have had a safe place to land. They also often deceive owners who are trying to re-home their beloved
horses by claiming to offer a good home only to sell the horses to slaughterhouses.
“Finally, many also employ bail-out schemes, preying on the public’s emotions by creating artificial emergencies claiming horses will be slaughtered unless ‘rescued’ with high bail fees, which ultimately funds the direct shipment of more horses to slaughter. Simply put, kill buyers are a stain on our society, and we cannot allow their actions to continue unabated.”
Return to Freedom helped gather signatures for the letter.
Why it matters:
Until Congress acts, kill buyers will profit from shipping American horses from auctions to Mexico or Canada to be slaughtered. Last year, almost 20,000 horses suffered that fate.
Congress has also failed to pass a federal ban on horse slaughter. Currently, only language inserted into in annual funding bills prevents the resumption of horse slaughter here at home.
Thank you:
We’re grateful to Rep. Buchanan and these other signers of the letter: Nick Lalota, Claudia Tenney, Nicole Malliotakis, Anna Paulina Luna, Brian K. Fitzpatrick, Jefferson Van Drew, Michael V. Lawler, Troy E. Nehls, Nancy Mace, Juan Ciscomani, Gus M. Bilirakis, Mike Carey, Christopher H. Smith, Andrew R. Garbarino, Andy Barr, Young Kim, Michael R. Turner, Thomas H. Kean, Jr., and W. Gregory Steube.