Federal Bill to End Inhumane Equine Transport

Senator Kirk Introduces Bill to End Inhumane Transport of Horses Via Double Deck Trailers

Tuesday, June 28, 2011
 
Washington, D.C.  Late Monday night, Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced The Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2011 (S. 1281) to ban double deck trailer transportation of horses in the United States. Senator Kirk has worked to end the use of double deck transports for hauling horses since serving in the House of Representatives, following a horrific double deck trailer accident that took place in his state.

Double deck livestock trailers on the road today were built to meet the specific design and engineering requirements of short-necked livestock species, like cattle, sheep, and swine.  Unfortunately, a few irresponsible haulers have used these trailers against manufacturer intent to transport horses, leading to inhumane travel conditions for equines and unsafe roadways for drivers.  The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the National Agriculture Safety Database (NASD) have recommended ceiling heights no lower than 7-8 to transport horses safely, while average double deck trailer ceiling heights range from 4'7"-5'11".  The U.S. Department of Transportation only requires bridges to have a vertical clearance of 14' in both rural and urban areas, making it impractical to build or modify a trailer large enough to transport equines on two levels.

Besides being an inhumane way to transport horses, double-deck trailers pose a major safety threat to the drivers of the imbalanced, oversized vehicles, as well as to other motorists, said Senator Kirk. Unfortunately, crashes due to these factors have occurred, and the results of the accidents are devastating. Following an accident in 2007 in Wadsworth, Ill., authorities worked for five hours before they were able to free the horses from the wreckage.

Today, most professional horse haulers believe double deck trailer transportation of horses has been banned. While there are a few state laws prohibiting the use of double deck trailers, there are no federal guidelines regarding the humane transport of horses, other than those going to slaughter. Even those are flawed; current USDA regulations banning double deck transportation only cover horses heading directly to a slaughterhouse.  Horses bound anywhere else, or en route to a midpoint in their journey (such as an auction house or feedlot) legally may be hauled in a double deck trailer notwithstanding the cruelty.  The USDA has expressed a desire to strengthen regulations banning this inhumane practice, but has yet to take action on the matter.

The Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2011 (S.1281) is necessary to protect horses from being transported across the United States in a trailer having more than one level.  To learn more about this issue or to write a letter to your Senator in support of S. 1281, please visit http://www.compassionindex.org/.

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Life Saving Film Launches Campaign to Go Far and Wide

Wild for Life Foundation
Americans Against Horse Slaughter

For Immediate Release
June 28, 2011

Life Saving Film Launches Campaign to Go Far and Wide
Saving America’s Horses”, a cause driven film just started the festival circuit, and has already won multiple awards including BEST OF FESTIVAL at its first showing in Los Angeles and is getting rave reviews but…... the slaughter of our American Horses may never end unless our horses are able to tell their story.

Thousands of horses are exported every year to Canada and Mexico to be slaughtered for the purpose of wealthy dinner plates overseas, but "Saving America's Horses" is the life saving film that can change all that for our American horses.












  • A powerhouse narrative.” – Paula Bacon, Former Mayor Kaufman Texas
  • A brilliant and heartbreaking exposé.” — Laura Allen, Executive Director, Animal Law Coalition
  • "Masterfully presented and balanced rather than filled with graphic images." – Larry Lindner, New York Times best-selling writer and former columnist for The Washington Post and The Boston Globe
  • "It’s a life changing film!"—Michael Bailey, Producer/ Director Planetviews Productions, Environmentalist
  • "Transcends the finest investigative journalism... A passionate reverence for all animals" —Debra Lopez, AAHS, Animal Advocate TV
Click here to see this important message now:
http://youtu.be/5lyuEtB0Nzc

Contact:
Wild For Life Foundation at admin[@]wildforlifefoundation.org regarding the film. 
Americans Against Horse Slaughter at aahsus[@]gmail.com about this PSA



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WFLF Needs Help with Emergency Hay Fund


Emergency funds are currently being raised so that horses don't go hungry. We rescue slaughter bound, abused, neglected, displaced and otherwise at risk horses, We provide them with medical care, feed, shelter and turn out during their rehabilitation and then find them new forever homes. Donations are at an all time low for horse rescues and shelters across the country due to the economy; many animals are being deprived of food or left behind when people lose their homes.  But we are here to help! Emergency funds are needed right now to feed these hungry rescue horses. Your support is crucial to ensuring we can fulfill our mission.

Lifetime Equine Refuge is the equine rescue program under Wild for Life Foundation. We are dedicated to serving the needs of slaughter bound, abused, neglected, displaced and otherwise at risk horses. Lifetime sanctuary is provided through our Garden of Equine program to horses that cannot be permanently re-homed. Your support is crucial to ensuring we can fulfill our mission. When you donate to WFLF's Life time Equine Refuge, you make our successful programs possible! Donations are tax deductible.  

Join our Cause page at facebook!

Lummis Amendment Withdrawn

Breaking news! House Representative Lummis just withdrew her amendment!

House Rep may Threaten Defunding- More Calls Needed

House Rep Lummis (WY) expected to threaten defunding with amendment to FUND horse slaughter. DEFUNDING is vital to protecting horses.

Call TODAY and urge your legislator to strongly OPPOSE ANY amendment to restore horse slaughter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewGFPfS1U9I

Tax Payer Funding of Horse Slaughter goes to Vote this Week!

On May 30th, the House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment to the FY2012 Agriculture Appropriations bill that prevents your tax dollars from being used to fund inspections of horse slaughter facilities. This bipartisan language has been included in every Agriculture Appropriations bill since 2005. Without this important provision, foreign investors will be able to reestablish horse slaughter in the U.S. at the expense of taxpayers, our own food safety, and the welfare of horses.

The full House of Representatives will vote on the FY12 Agriculture Appropriations bill this Wednesday, June 15. An amendment may be offered to remove the Committee-approved language prohibiting the USDA from spending your tax dollars to inspect horse slaughter facilities. Maintaining the USDA language defunding inspections of horse slaughter facilities as currently included is vital to protecting our horses. It is critical that you call TODAY and urge your legislator to strongly OPPOSE ANY amendment to restore horse slaughter.

Please call your Representative immediately, urging opposition to any attempt to restore horse slaughter. 

You can call the main Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Representative's office by your state and zip code.

Artivist Film Festival Rescheduled to August

For immediate release: June 11th, 2011, 10PM
Los Angeles

Breaking News

The 2011 Artivist Film Festival in Los Angeles has been rescheduled to be held August 18-20 at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. These dates represent a change from the July 8-10 dates. The venue will remain the same.

The Artivist Film Festival reports that the date change is necessitated by unforeseen logistics. The Festival has extended a sincere apology for any inconvenience this date change may have caused.

Please be sure you are subscribed for updates through the Saving America’s Horses website or blog. We will be sending out an announcement as soon as we know more details.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

For the horses and burros~

Sincerely,

Katia Louise
Saving America’s Horses
www.savingamericashorses.org


Link to PDF: http://www.savingamericashorses.org/Artivist_Festival_Date_Change.pdf

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Emergency Hay Fund


Emergency funds are currently being raised so that horses don't go hungry. We rescue slaughter bound, abused, neglected, displaced and otherwise at risk horses and find them new forever homes. Donations are at an all time low for horse rescues and shelters across the country due to the economy; many animals are being deprived of food or left behind when people lose their homes.  But we are here to help! Emergency funds are needed right now to feed these hungry horses. Your support is crucial to ensuring we can fulfill our mission.

Lifetime Equine Refuge is the equine rescue program under Wild for Life Foundation. We are dedicated to serving the needs of slaughter bound, abused, neglected, displaced and otherwise at risk horses. We provide feed, medical care and shelter to horses in need. Lifetime sanctuary is provided through our Garden of Equine program to horses that cannot be permanently re-homed. Your support is crucial to ensuring we can fulfill our mission. When you donate to WFLF's Life time Equine Refuge, you make our successful campaigns possible! Donations are tax deductible.

American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011

Jun 10, 2011
By Laura Allen
WFLF Lifetime Equine Refuge BOD
Animal Law Coalition

Just as U.S. Representatives Jim Moran (D-VA) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) are calling for an end to horse slaughter, a bill to make that happen is introduced in the Senate. Here is what Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the sponsors, have released about this bill:
The Problem: Somewhere between 60,000 and 100,000 horses/year are exported from the United States each year with the intent to slaughter for human consumption.
There are no horse slaughterhouses in the United States, and there is not a demand for horse meat in the United States. Two out three Americans believe the practice of horse slaughter is unnecessary and inhumane. Transport to foreign slaughterhouses is lengthy and cruel.

Horses in the United States differ from other livestock in that they have never been raised for the purpose of slaughter. As such, they are frequently treated with drugs that are toxic when ingested by humans and not approved for use in animals raised for human consumption.

Additionally, we have no system in the United States to track which medications a horse has received throughout its lifetime, which makes horse meat a serious food safety/American food export risk.
The Solution: The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011, S.B. 1176, amends the Horse Protection Act (HPA) to prohibit the sale or transport of horses or equine parts in interstate or foreign commerce with the intent of processing for human consumption. 
 
The bill, filed on June 9, already has a number of co-sponsors.

(more)

Senate Reintroduces Bill to Permanently Ban Horse Slaughter

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Washington, D.C. -- A bill to ban horse slaughter was reintroduced in the United States Senate today. Sponsored by Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the "American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011" will end the slaughter of American horses here and, most urgently, will stop these horses from being exported abroad for slaughter. The sponsors, who have long championed the cause, have the bipartisan support of 14 colleagues who are co-sponsoring the bill.

"As a lifelong horse lover and rider, this practice is appalling to me, and more importantly, the majority of Americans oppose it. We raise and train horses to trust us, perform for us, and allow us on their backs, and as such, they deserve to be treated with human compassion. When horse owners are faced with the sad reality of having to put their animals down, it should be by humane euthanasia," said Senator Landrieu. "I intend to work with Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina and my other colleagues to get this bill passed and permanently end the slaughter of our American horses."

Act now to Defund Horse Slaughter in the U.S.

The Full House Vote on Funding for inspections of horse slaughter in the U.S. will take place June 15th. Calls, faxes and emails to your representatives are still needed.

Legislation to be voted on June 15th that could fund horse slaughter in the U.S. with your tax dollars





Learn more
Article By Rep Jim Moran "U.S. should get out of horse meat business"
1 Minute PSA by Wild for Life Foundation
Roll call from May 31st: Your representatives and where they stand!