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.