To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Ban Horse Slaughter Now!
We ask that the House of Representatives, Senate, and President Obama pass the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011, S.B. 1176/H.R. 2966, to ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption. This is particularly important for the following reasons:
1) Horses are revered for their contributions to the building of this country, their long-standing history of working alongside humans in a variety of tasks, their companionship, and their special bond with people;
(2) Horses are not raised for the purpose of being slaughtered for human consumption, and, as a result, American horses are not raised, fed, and medicated within the FDA guidelines established for food animals, making them potentially unfit and unsafe for human consumption;
(3) Horse slaughter is not humane euthanasia and does not allow for each animal to be respectfully treated as an individual;
(4) Banning slaughter would encourage breeders to be more careful in the number of foals they produce, and it ultimately would reduce the number of horses in need, while improving horse welfare;
(5) President Obama made a campaign promise to permanently ban horse slaughter and exports of horses for human consumption; and
(6) Allowing commercial horse slaughter for human consumption in the U.S. uses American tax dollars to support an industry that caters entirely to foreign interests, instead of directing those tax dollars to domestic interests.
1) Horses are revered for their contributions to the building of this country, their long-standing history of working alongside humans in a variety of tasks, their companionship, and their special bond with people;
(2) Horses are not raised for the purpose of being slaughtered for human consumption, and, as a result, American horses are not raised, fed, and medicated within the FDA guidelines established for food animals, making them potentially unfit and unsafe for human consumption;
(3) Horse slaughter is not humane euthanasia and does not allow for each animal to be respectfully treated as an individual;
(4) Banning slaughter would encourage breeders to be more careful in the number of foals they produce, and it ultimately would reduce the number of horses in need, while improving horse welfare;
(5) President Obama made a campaign promise to permanently ban horse slaughter and exports of horses for human consumption; and
(6) Allowing commercial horse slaughter for human consumption in the U.S. uses American tax dollars to support an industry that caters entirely to foreign interests, instead of directing those tax dollars to domestic interests.
Why is this important?
As a result of spending bill H2112, slaughterhouses in the United States will be able to resume slaughtering horses for human consumption. We are not a nation that raises horses as food animals or one that consumes horse meat. Rather, horses are largely considered companion animals, more similar to dogs and cats than to animals raised for consumption. They should therefore be treated as such, and not subjected to mass slaughter.
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - Mahatma Gandhi
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - Mahatma Gandhi