12-2-2011 For Immediate Release
Horse Slaughter to resume in America, again!
In 2006 the U.S. stopped funding horse meat inspections, on November 17th Congressional Conference Committee passed an agriculture spending bill FY 2012 which did not include the regulations on horse meat inspections. President Obama signed the bill into law a few days later. It could not be amended after being approved. The bill did not allocate any new money for the inspections and there never was money allocated for the inspections for horses. Now each state has to decide if they want horse slaughter houses and where is the money going to come from for the inspections of the meat? Each state could also pass a law to not allow horse slaughter, some already have these laws in place. However, there are attempts currently to overturn laws banning horse slaughter in those states. The state of Illinois where the currently closed Cavel slaughter house is located could be in operation again in the near future if these attempts are successful.
Polls have consistently shown that over 70% of Americans are opposed to horse slaughter and there is no viable market for horse meat in America. Congress is supposedly working on reducing spending and creating jobs. Horse slaughter plants operating until 2007 have consistently created less than 200 jobs for Americans and they were low paying jobs. Horse Slaughter brought in virtually no tax revenues and local governments incurred substantial enforcement costs in trying to regulate these facilities. The standard of living in the areas dropped. . Americans stand to gain nothing from this and would be required to subsidize a foreign owned industry during a recession.
Horses always have been shipped to Canada and Mexico for slaughter for human consumption even when the US slaughter houses were open. Horses are not raised as slaughter animals. Most are routinely given wormer, bute, steroids, antibiotics which state not safe for use in animals intended for human consumption. The recent EU FVO reports on US equines exported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter for human consumption showed banned drug residues and falsified drug affidavits.
Another Chance 4 Horses, Inc. a 501c(3) www.ac4h.com located in Pennsylvania, an all-breed, all volunteer horse rescue has been assisting horses from neglect, abuse, emergency owner surrender, unfit for sale, auctions and slaughter for over a decade. The traditional rescue operation opened a secondary program about 8 years ago called the broker owned program to assist auction and slaughter bound horses to have “another chance” at life. This program has successfully placed thousands of horses through an international network. Co-Founder, Christy Sheidy said statistics show that 1% of the entire horse population are shipped to slaughter, while 99% have owners that are able to be responsible in providing for the horse through humane euthanasia. The majority of slaughter bound horses are not old, sick or unwanted. Our program has proven that these slaughter bound horses are wanted, useful and able lead a productive lives adding revenue to the economy by staying alive. Horses have a huge economical impact on America’s economy and society if they are alive. In fact, the horse industry produces goods and services of $25.3 billion and has a total impact of $112.1 billion on U.S. gross domestic product. This industry’s contribution to the U.S. GDP is greater than the motion picture services, railroad transportation, furniture and fixtures manufacturing and tobacco product manufacturing industries. In a study released in the summer of 2003 by Penn State University Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff said that $8.2 billion or 18 percent of agribusiness sales—the state’s largest industry—can be attributed to horses. The $8.2 billion figure refers to investments including land, buildings, machinery, etc., and does not include the value of the horses themselves—an additional $1.3 billion.
Now, more than ever, it is crucial that Congress pass the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 2966) to permanently prohibit the slaughter of American horses." Your voice needs to be heard.
Write to your representatives https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Contact your senator http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
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