Horse Slaughter Ban Reintroduced in U.S. Congress:
Veterinary Support Needed to Push through Senate and House of Representatives

Building on momentum generated in 2006, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (AHSPA) has been reintroduced in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives with hopes that this critical equine welfare measure will be enacted into law in 2007. Both versions (H.R. 503 and S. 311) would ban the slaughter of horses and other equines for human consumption in the United States and the transport of horses and other equines abroad to meet the same fate. Last summer, the House overwhelmingly approved the AHSPA by a vote of 263 to 146. However, session ended before the Senate could vote on the measure. (NOTE: Senator John Ensign (R-NV), a veterinarian, is one of the co-authors of the Senate bill.)

A broad range of animal protection groups including the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, horse industry organizations, race horse associations and celebrity spokespersons have signed on in support of the AHSPA. (Go to http://www.saplonline.org/horses_ahspasupp.htm to view a list of supporters.) Likewise, there has been strong bipartisan support among members of Congress for putting an end to the cruel horse slaughter industry in our country. Meanwhile, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has gone on record in opposing the AHSPA.

The AVMA specifies that captive-bolt slaughter of horses and other equines is acceptable with "appropriate restraint." However, slaughterhouse employees have difficulty restraining the animals in a fast-moving slaughter line. Furthermore, the AVMA position does not take into account the immense suffering animals endure prior to reaching the slaughterhouse, sometimes traveling thousands of miles in cramped conditions where injuries, illness and anxiety are the norm.

The AVMA also argues that if the AHSPA is passed into law, unwanted horses and other equines will be abandoned and suffer from neglect, starvation and disease. AVAR believes that this is an unacceptable excuse for shirking our responsibility to protect equines from the horrors of the slaughterhouse. There are existing anti-cruelty laws that protect animals from starvation and abandonment. The veterinary profession should be prepared to step forward to help enforce these laws,  rather than cite potential abandonment of equines as a reason for not stopping slaughter. Additionally, the veterinary profession has a valuable role to play in improving access to humane forms of euthanasia when medically necessary for equines.

Please contact your elected officials in both the House and Senate and urge them to vote in support of the AHSPA. Support from veterinary professionals will have a substantial impact in pushing this legislation through the Congress. For a list of legislators who have already signed on as co-sponsors of this legislation, go to http://www.compassionindex.org. For contact information for your elected official, go to http://www.saplonline.org/congress.htm.

To view a copy of AVAR's support letter, click here.