To stand by and do nothing ....makes us sharers in the guilt.
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Read these articles for more information:
House of the Illinois General Assembly Moves to Ban Double Deck Horse Transport
Springfield, IL (April 8, 2008) Following last year.s passage of an Illinois state law banning horse slaughter, the House of the Illinois General Assembly today adopted HB 4162, a bill to ban the use of double-deck cattle trailers to transport horses inside the state. Sponsored in the House by Representatives JoAnn Osmond (R-61st) and Bob Molaro (D-21st), the bill easily passed by a vote of 80-29 and will now move to the Senate for consideration. Although the state.s sole horse slaughter plant closed in 2007, these trailers are still used to move horses through Illinois to be slaughtered elsewhere.
.On behalf of our Illinois supporters and horse lovers around the United States, we commend Representatives Osmond and Molaro and their colleagues in the House for passing this double decker ban,. said Chris Heyde, Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) deputy director of government and legal affairs. .The Illinois General Assembly has taken action to stop the brutal injury and death of horses transported on trailers not designed for them. We look forward to seeing the Senate enact this modest and responsible legislation..
During today.s floor debate, staunch horse slaughter advocate Representative Jim Sacia railed against the Illinois ban on horse slaughter. Sacia continues to mislead his colleagues in an attempt to overturn the ban, which easily passed the Illinois General Assembly last year. He advocates the reopening of US plants by highlighting how bad the situation is for horses going to Canada and Mexico for slaughter, a fate AWI opposed for years. However, Sacia fails to point out that the industry he is advocating for in the United States is the same industry buying tens of thousands of American horses and shipping them to their plants in Canada and Mexico.
America's Leading Vets call on AVMA to Stand Down on Horse Slaughter - Washington, DC - October 9, 2007
Veterinarians for Equine Welfare, a group opposed to the slaughter of horses for human consumption, today called on the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) to end its opposition to the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, a bill that will prohibit the domestic slaughter of horses for human consumption as well as their export for slaughter elsewhere.
"It is intolerable that our professional association continues to support horse slaughter. The abject cruelty that our horses are being expoed to in Mexican slaughterhouses is beyond imagination and anyone concerned for the welfare of our horses ought to be doing everything he or she can to support quick passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act," said Dr. Nicholas Dodman, a renowned verterinary behaviouralist.
"It is time for the AVMA and other pro-horse slaughter groups to stop stonewalling and join with the majoyrity of veterinarians, Americans, horse owners, welfare organizations and equine rescues in supporting passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. It is not too late to come clean and make a difference for the horses. If the AVMA truly cares about the welfare of these horses they have the power to make their suffering stop immediately," said Chris Heyde, deputy legislative director for the Animal Welfare Institute. "I commend Veterinarians for Equine Welfare for truly speaking on behalf of vets acrose the country."
While state laws in Illinois and Texas have put a recent stop to the domestic slaughter of horses for human consumption, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S. 311/H.R. 503), will prohibit their export for slaughter in Mexico, Canada and further abroad. The bill enjoys broad bi-partisan support with 31 cosponsors in the United States Senate and 186 cosponsors in the United State House of Representatives to date.