6/13/13
Citizen Cosponsor Project
Citizen Cosponsor Project
Please follow the above link to the Citizen Cosponsor Project and cosponsor H.R, 1094, the SAFE ACT which will ban horse slaughter in the US and prohibit the transfer of horses across borders for the purpose of slaughter.
5/25/13
Trojan Horse Slaughter
Trojan Horse Slaughter
The last U.S.-based horse slaughterhouse closed in 2007. The phasing out of horse slaughter in the United States ended the exportation of U.S.-produced horse meat to Canada, Europe, and Japan. This development, among other accomplishments, spelled the decline of a niche business that profited from a product that American taxpayers financially supported (through USDA inspection of horse slaughterhouses) but were loathe to consume (plus, it’s illegal to sell horse meat in the U.S.).
Over the past six years, though, a small cohort of national lobbyists and state representatives has worked to reopen U.S. horse slaughterhouses. Five states—Oklahoma, Montana, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Iowa—have already taken legislative steps in that direction. Their collective justification for doing so is that U.S. slaughterhouses are better for the welfare of horses. Without them, they argue, an endless stream of retired race horses will inevitably head to Mexico for slaughter, a terrifying prospect for animals who, advocates further contend, will meet an especially gruesome south-of-the-border death.
On the surface, this argument seems to make sense. Why slaughter horses abroad when we can do so at home? A closer look, however, reveals three problems, each of which suggests that any claim to reinstate horse slaughter on welfare grounds is simply a cynical ploy to dupe Americans into supporting a business most of us find abhorrent.
First, advocates of U.S. horse slaughter—the very people who insist they care about shortening the distance a horse travels for slaughter—opposed legislation restricting the distance horses could travel in the aftermath of the American closings. Sue Wallis, a Wyoming state representative and the most vocal proponent of reopening slaughterhouses (they call her “Slaughterhouse Sue”), wrote in 2009 that, “A key early initiative is to muster resources to oppose bills now pending in Congress that would ban the transportation of horses to other countries for the purpose of slaughter.” The intent here was as simple as it was sinister: to normalize long horse hauls to foreign soil and then highlight its inherent cruelty, thereby buttressing the case for a more “humane” local option.
Second, the claim that Mexican slaughterhouses are comparatively inhumane is equally problematic. Plants where U.S. horses have been slaughtered in Mexico are owned by the same European Union companies that once owned horse slaughterhouses in the United States. Supporters of local slaughter suggest that U.S. horses are being killed in an especially cruel and unregulated manner in Mexican-owned slaughterhouses, mainly by stabbing them in the spine. In fact, EU companies deploy standard procedures, using (most notably) captive bolt guns to stun horses before bleeding and processing them, just as they do in Europe and once did in the U.S. Ironically, the only documented cases we have of horse slaughterhouse cruelty and abuse come from the U.S. (back when slaughterhouses were legal).
Third, advocates of U.S. horse slaughter insist that, without the re-institution of slaughter at home, an unmanageable number of horses will continue to suffer the indignities described above. But the numbers don’t support this claim. Nearly 90 percent of U.S. horses die of natural causes or are euthanized at home. Bill Bullard, a California state representative and supporter of U.S. horse slaughter, says that the horse industry is desperate for “a way to dispose of our old, diseased, lame horses.” In fact, that problem has already been solved for the overwhelming majority of horses. They die the way our pets die—more often than not with quiet dignity.
Duplicity is one thing. But the upshot of this manufactured crisis is even worse: an impending public health disaster of global proportions. What supporters of U.S. slaughter never tell us is that the 150,000 or so U.S. horses that are annually slaughtered for export are bombarded daily with a hit list of toxic drugs, most notably phenylbutazone (“bute”), a common painkiller. While innocuous for horses, bute can cause, even in trace doses, aplastic anemia, agranulocytosis, thrombocytopenia, leucopenia, pancytopenia, and hemolytic anemia in humans. Eating U.S. horses, according to Tufts Veterinary professor Nicolas Dodman, “is about as healthful as food contaminated with DDT.” The USDA currently has no program to regulate these substances.
In other words, lost in all the discussions about horse slaughter and horsemeat is a fundamental point: horses are not raised for food. They are, in essence, an industrial product. For Americans to recycle them into an edible but toxic by-product for foreigners to eat, doing so with taxpayer dollars and through an underfunded USDA, would be bad for everyone involved, most notably the 150,00 horses a year who’d be much better off not being used as Trojan horses to hide the profits of those who claim to care about them.
4/20/13
From the Horse Lover’s Mouth
From the Horse Lover’s Mouth
WeMakeItNews.com Speaks with Congressman Jim Moran about Ending the Slaughter of American Horses & Recent Move by White House to Defund Inspections of Horse Meat
By Debra Zimmerman Murphey
For the first time on the policy front, and
through the Obama White House, the United States Department of
Agriculture’s proposed upcoming budget supports an initiative to defund
horse meat inspections in the United States.
Previously, this kind of action had not been
initiated by the executive branch, according to U.S. Congressman Jim
Moran’s office. But as news of horse slaughter starting again in America
intensifies, a public backlash has triggered grassroots and national
attention. The announcement regarding the USDA’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget
request, which does not include future funding for horse meat
inspections, came last week.
“The USDA’s inclusion of language to defund
horse slaughter inspections in the Fiscal Year 2014 budget request is an
important step in the right direction. This decision reflects the
food-safety concerns inherent to horse meat and is consistent with the
80 percent of the American people who oppose this inhumane industry. It
is now up to Congress to do the right thing and vote to approve this
language in the Fiscal Year 2014 Agriculture Appropriations bill,” Moran
said.
But Moran also points out that Congress has
the “power of the purse” and there will be a battle regarding approving
the defunding policy. He acknowledges that the pro-slaughter lobby is
strong, but is hopeful that members of the public will let their elected
officials know that horse slaughter is inhumane and that they do not
want to financially support this kind of business sector.
Moran (D-Va.), a vocal opponent of horse
slaughter, had requested just weeks ago in a letter to USDA Secretary
Tom Vilsack that the USDA include defunding language in its upcoming
budget as a way of stopping horse slaughter in our country. In that
letter, Moran raised several concerns about horse slaughter resuming in America
and the meat from butchered horses being shipped abroad and sold for
human consumption. His reservations include public-health issues, such
as people eating potentially toxic horse meat, and pressing budget
matters.
2-minutes with the Congressman — LISTEN to an excerpt from the Moran interview
Word from the White House — LISTEN to Part 1 of the Moran interview
The Meat of the Issue — LISTEN to Part 2 of the Moran interview
Indeed, Moran’s push now is even more urgent as the horse slaughter landscape has drastically shifted in recent months:
- Oklahoma passed legislation that ends a 50-year ban on horse slaughter.
- There are pending applications with the USDA for horse meat inspections at proposed horse slaughter plants in Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee, and one for a facility in New Mexico which filed a lawsuit and whose owner is awaiting the go-ahead to open the first horse slaughter operation in the United States since 2007 (sources: Bloomberg, The New York Times and Front Range Equine Rescue).
- The horse slaughter debate takes on a new intensity in light of a mounting controversy in Europe over mislabeled meat products, including those containing trace amounts of horse meat, and what creeps into the global food-chain.
Horse Slaughter in Headlines
While the gritty dialogue about domestic horse
slaughter for human consumption in foreign countries gains momentum and
increasing exposure, the mainstream and business media often frame the
anti-slaughter faction’s responses as emotional and the perspectives
they provide in their news coverage and editorials are sometimes narrow.
However, in an exclusive audio interview with WeMakeItNews.com, Moran explains why banning the slaughter of American horses for human consumption is a logical and needed step.
In taking a position against ending the slaughter and transport of American horses for human consumption, Moran notes:
- American horses are routinely given products and medications, such as the anti-inflammatory phenylbutazone, that are banned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in animals destined for human consumption;
- In our culture, horses (though categorized as livestock) are not commercially raised to be eaten by humans and both regional and national polling shows that a wide majority of Americans are against horse slaughter for human consumption; and
- Because Americans do not eat horse meat, reopening horse slaughter facilities in our country will result in taxpayers supporting an industry that does not benefit them during an era of fiscal constraints and dwindling federal funding.
Moran, who is serving his 12th term as a representative from Virginia’s 8th
District, has been a longtime advocate for animal protection and a
policy pioneer in helping pen and endorse legislation that will end the
“heinous practice” of slaughtering American horses for human
consumption. He is co-chair of the Congressional Animal Protection
Caucus.
For several years, Moran drafted an
Agriculture Appropriations bill amendment, that was consistently
approved, which defunded USDA inspections for horse meat. However, in
2011 that language was pulled in a closed conference, thus setting in
motion the possibility for horse slaughter facilities to reopen in our
country.
Speak Up Against Horse Slaughter
It is paramount for those who want to stop
horse slaughter to take a few moments to reach out to their local
representatives and senators in the U.S. Congress and request that they
support a ban on the transport and slaughter of American horses for
human consumption, including the USDA/White House’s recent policy move
and the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act. The latter is
bipartisan legislation introduced this year that focuses on food safety
as a route to permanently stop the slaughter of American horses for
human consumption.
“Every dollar spent at horse slaughter plants
would divert necessary resources away from beef, chicken, and pork
inspections – meat actually consumed by Americans. … [Additionally],
contrary to the claims of slaughter proponents, these [slaughter] horses
are not old and unwanted, with USDA statistics showing that 92 percent
of all horses sent to slaughter are in good condition,” Moran wrote to
Vilsack.
“It is regrettable that Congress allowed the
prohibition on federal funding for horse slaughter inspections to lapse.
While I work to restore this ban, I strongly urge you to exercise all
available options to prevent the resumption of this industry. I also
stand ready and willing to work with you in developing a responsible
plan for handling unwanted horses,” Moran concluded.
You can call the White House [202-456-1111 or TTY/TTD 202-456-6213] to
help permanently stop horse slaughter, as well as ask for an end to
transporting American horses to slaughterhouses in other countries.
Below is contact information for senators and
congressmen/congresswomen in Maryland and Virginia or you can visit The
Humane Society of the United States’ website to locate and contact
elected officials in other states to share your opinion about horse
slaughter and to ensure that the American people are heard regarding
their stances against horse slaughter. Click here to access information from the Humane Society.
Please remember that horse slaughter is not
humane chemical euthanasia, will only exacerbate the suffering of
horses, and goes against American values. Slaughter ensures a horrific
fate for horses – including racehorses, ponies, former dressage and show
competitors, and pleasure, companion, working and wild horses – that
are sold into the slaughter pipeline at auctions where kill buyers lurk.
European Commission May Force U-Turn On Horse Passports Database
David Heath, the minister for agriculture and the environment. Photograph: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images
Britain may have to make an embarrassing U-turn over a decision
not to fund a national database for horse passports as the EU seeks to
tighten controls in the wake of the horsemeat scandal.
As UK ministers announced a review of the government's handling of the crisis, it emerged that the European commission wants every country to have a central database of horse movements, including through abattoirs.
Britain had a national database until ministers ended funding last September, and now leaves recording to 75 different bodies. The commission plans to introduce new EU rules on the identification of horses, ponies and donkeys within months. These will make a central database mandatory and cut the number of bodies empowered to issue passports.
David Heath, Britain's minister for agriculture and the environment, promised a wide-ranging review of the government's response over the past three months "to help restore confidence", but did not say what its response would be to the commission's plans.
He said only that a meeting of experts across the EU last week had been "a useful exchange of views in advance of further discussions at official level later this week".
The charity World Horse Welfare has previously said ministers have been aware of the weaknesses in the UK passport system and that a good central IT system is needed.
The Guardian revealed last week that 2% of all carcasses of horses sent for slaughter are found to contain the veterinary medicine bute – although since February they have not been allowed to leave abattoirs until test results have been delivered.
Details of the government's review will be published by the environment secretary, Owen Paterson, soon. Heath said police investigations into "completely unacceptable" food fraud were continuing, and said it was right that "any weaknesses in our food system and the controls it is subject to are identified and dealt with".
Mary Creagh, Labour's environment spokeswoman, said the present passport system was a mess and ministers' "short-sighted and reckless decision" to scrap the database last year had made it harder to track horses intended for the human food chain.
"Any new database must be compatible with Ireland and France if we are to have horses moving freely between our three countries," she said.
Last week Asda reported that its smart price corned beef had tested positive for very low levels of bute, which is banned from the human food chain. The corned beef had previously been found to contain horse DNA, and is the only product to test positive for bute since the scandal began.
Officials have said horsemeat containing bute at very low levels presents a very low risk to human health. Twenty-four products in the UK have been named as containing more than 1% horsemeat.
Last week the Netherlands recalled 50,000 tonnes of meat sold across Europe as beef over a two-year period which may contain horsemeat. A small number of UK businesses may have received products from a trading company selling the meat.
As UK ministers announced a review of the government's handling of the crisis, it emerged that the European commission wants every country to have a central database of horse movements, including through abattoirs.
Britain had a national database until ministers ended funding last September, and now leaves recording to 75 different bodies. The commission plans to introduce new EU rules on the identification of horses, ponies and donkeys within months. These will make a central database mandatory and cut the number of bodies empowered to issue passports.
David Heath, Britain's minister for agriculture and the environment, promised a wide-ranging review of the government's response over the past three months "to help restore confidence", but did not say what its response would be to the commission's plans.
He said only that a meeting of experts across the EU last week had been "a useful exchange of views in advance of further discussions at official level later this week".
The charity World Horse Welfare has previously said ministers have been aware of the weaknesses in the UK passport system and that a good central IT system is needed.
The Guardian revealed last week that 2% of all carcasses of horses sent for slaughter are found to contain the veterinary medicine bute – although since February they have not been allowed to leave abattoirs until test results have been delivered.
Details of the government's review will be published by the environment secretary, Owen Paterson, soon. Heath said police investigations into "completely unacceptable" food fraud were continuing, and said it was right that "any weaknesses in our food system and the controls it is subject to are identified and dealt with".
Mary Creagh, Labour's environment spokeswoman, said the present passport system was a mess and ministers' "short-sighted and reckless decision" to scrap the database last year had made it harder to track horses intended for the human food chain.
"Any new database must be compatible with Ireland and France if we are to have horses moving freely between our three countries," she said.
Last week Asda reported that its smart price corned beef had tested positive for very low levels of bute, which is banned from the human food chain. The corned beef had previously been found to contain horse DNA, and is the only product to test positive for bute since the scandal began.
Officials have said horsemeat containing bute at very low levels presents a very low risk to human health. Twenty-four products in the UK have been named as containing more than 1% horsemeat.
Last week the Netherlands recalled 50,000 tonnes of meat sold across Europe as beef over a two-year period which may contain horsemeat. A small number of UK businesses may have received products from a trading company selling the meat.
3/20/13
Equine Welfare Alliance: US Horsemeat Banned in EU!
If Meat Plant Opens, Europeans Would Not Accept U.S. Product | Horse Back Magazine
If Meat Plant Opens, Europeans Would Not Accept U.S. Product
March 20, 2013
Mar 20, 2013 21:00 America/Chicago
Equine Welfare Alliance: US Horsemeat Banned in EU
CHICAGO, (EQUINE WELFARE ALLIANCE/PR Newswire) – Since Congress lifted the ban on USDA inspections of horse meat, several small shuttered cattle slaughter plants have clamored for the USDA to provide horse meat inspections. Ricardo De Los Santos of Valley Meats, a New Mexico plant, went as far as to sue the USDA for not providing the service. The attorney for Valley Meats has announced it will be opening in three weeks.
Unfortunately for those wishing to bring horse slaughter back to the US, they will have to do so without the ability to sell to the EU, the main market for US horse meat. The Equine Welfare Alliance has received confirmation from EU authorities that “by virtue of Commission decision 2011/163/EU the US is not authorized to export horsemeat to the EU.”
The decision was made in 2011, when the USDA neglected to comply with new regulations requiring submittal of a drug residue control program. Approval of such an application requires extensive review as well as audits and can take up to several years to complete.
The EU authority (SANCO) went on to say “Our Directorate General, up to now, does not record a recent residue monitoring plan on horse meat submitted by USDA.” In other words, the process has yet to begin.
The scandal over horse meat being substituted for beef in a myriad of products, as well as the finding of the banned drug phenylbutazone in some of those products has further dimmed the prospects for a lifting of the ban.
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, in an interview with Reuters, said sequestration could cause sporadic food shortages if inspectors aren’t available to examine meat, poultry and egg products. Obviously, providing inspectors for horse meat would further exacerbate the need to protect US consumers. Vilsack shocked many today when he was quoted as saying he hoped that Congress could come up with an alternative to horse slaughter.
EWA’s John Holland explains the bleak prospects for private horse slaughter plants in the US, saying “these plants will have no access to the markets even if the EU ban is lifted because the distribution is controlled by a few multi-nationals, and those expecting to contract with these companies should heed the story of Natural Valley Farms (SK Canada) which lost millions trying to do so.”
EWA is a dues free, all volunteer 501(c)(4) umbrella organization representing over 270 member organizations and 1,000 individual members worldwide in 18 countries.
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