January
1, 2012
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
John
Holland
540-268-5693
john@equinewelfarealliance.org
Vicki
Tobin
630.961.9292
vicki@equinewelfarealliance.org
Treachery
of Congressional Horse Slaughter Cabal Exposed in Ad Campaign
Chicago
(EWA) – Equine Welfare Alliance (EWA) launched a major campaign on
December 30 to expose
the underhanded move by Rep. Jack Kingston (GA) and Sens. Kohl (WI)
and Blunt (MO) that reinstated horse inspections and opened the way
for horse slaughter to return to US soil.
On
a must pass bill, the three legislators in a tiny committee, quietly
removed the language that prohibited
the use of taxpayer dollars to fund horse inspections. The action
effectively legalized horse
slaughter in the US without a debate in the full house and senate,
where a straight vote would have failed.
The
ad campaign was launched in major theaters running the War Horse film
in the legislator’s districts
and also reached out to Montana and Wyoming to cover Sen. Baucus and
state Rep. Sue Wallis
who has become the face of horse slaughter as well as Wallis’
Representative Cynthia Lummis of WY.
Featured
in the ad is a remarkable Korean War hero; an equine named Reckless.
The ad uses this one
remarkable equine and her war time heroism to make the point that
horses are our animal partners
and not just “livestock”, explains EWA Vice President Vicki
Tobin.
Sgt.
Reckless hauled supplies to Marines, carried wounded off the battle
field, was wounded twice, and
performed many of her duties without a handler. Staff
Sergeant Reckless was a beloved legend
of the Marine Corps. She was promoted to sergeant in 1957 and then to
staff sergeant in 1959 by the Commandant of the Marines. She was
retired in 1960 to Camp Pendleton and when she died in 1968, she was
buried at Camp Pendleton with full military honors.
Rep.
Jack Kingston excused his action saying horses were “just like
cows”.
If
the funding move was designed to deal a death blow to the
anti-slaughter movement it appears to have had the opposite effect.
“We were able to raise the funding for the campaign and produce it
in just two weeks”, explained Tobin.
If
the funding move was designed to deal a death blow to the
anti-slaughter movement it appears to have had the opposite effect.
“We were able to raise the funding for the campaign and produce it
in just two weeks”, explained Tobin.
The
move has not been popular with Congress either. With an all time low
approval rating, members did not need such a blatant example of
pandering to special interests. Over 50 Congressmen and Senators
signed on as cosponsors of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention
Act (H.R. 2966 / S. 1176) after the language was removed.
John
Holland, president of EWA stated “This is not the end. We want to
send a message that if you betray
our horses we will haunt you to the ends of the earth. We will
continue to attack these individuals
as long as we have resources and they are in office.” When asked
why the EWA was attacking
Senator Kohl, given that he has announced he will not run for
reelection, Holland said “We want his successor to have an
example.”
The
funding action is seen by the EWA as just one more example of how
special interests are running
our country and through the ad campaign, the EWA is joining the
growing chorus shouting“enough
is enough”. Legislation should be enacted because of its merits,
not the deep pockets of Big Agriculture or any other special interest
group. Our horses belong in the horse industry, not a foreign
meat business.
EWA
and equine advocates across the country are calling on President
Obama to stand up against special
interests as he promised and issue an immediate executive order to
ban the slaughter to slaughter of America’s domestic and wild horses.
The
Equine Welfare Alliance is a dues-free 501c4, umbrella organization
with over 210 member organizations
and hundreds of individual members worldwide. The organization
focuses its efforts on the
welfare of all equines and the preservation of wild equids.
www.equinewelfarealliance.org
