Hearing on Horse Slaughter to be Held July 25 CALLS NEEDED URGENTLY!

Posted 07/21/2006 

Dear Humanitarian,

H.R. 503, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (AHSPA), is on the docket to be reviewed by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.  A hearing on the bill is scheduled for 2 p.m. on July 25, 2006.

The AHSPA, as you know, will permanently put an end to the slaughter of horses for human consumption and the domestic and international transport of live horses or horseflesh for the same purpose.  Just last year, over 90,000 horses were slaughtered in the three foreign-owned horse slaughter facilities located in Texas and Illinois.

Crowded into trailers and exposed to the elements, horses are hauled for up to 28 hours without a break.  When they reach the slaughterhouse, callous workers poke and beat the animals as they are shoved into the kill box. Despite the federal mandate that horses be rendered unconscious before having their throats slit, repeated blows with captive bolt pistols are often necessary to stun them, and their death is protracted and excruciating.  Members of Congress must end this practice by adopting the AHSPA in its original form.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Please contact ALL subcommittee members and urge them to strongly support the AHSPA as written.  Make a special effort to respectfully request all members of the subcommittee who are cosponsors (indicated by * in the contact list below) ATTEND the committee hearing and SUPPORT both the AHSPA and Representative Whitfield, who is participating in the hearing.  Call or fax TODAY until the hearing takes place on Tuesday.  Please share our “Dear Humanitarian” eAlert with family, friends and co-workers, and encourage them to call or fax their Members of Congress, too.

For more information about horse slaughter and H.R. 503, please click here: http://www.saplonline.org/horses.htm.  Your support is needed and much appreciated.

Sincerely,
Chris Heyde