Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed a massive transportation bill that included a critical provision to ban the transportation of horses to slaughter for human consumption.
Special thanks go to Representatives Jeff Van Drew, Dina Titus, Tim Burchett, Eleanor Holmes Norton and Jimmy Patronis for spearheading the bipartisan Van Drew-Titus amendment.
Additional gratitude goes to Congressman Vern Buchanan for leading the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act, for which the transportation amendment was based.
It is well known that over 80% of Americans oppose horse slaughter. Including this language in the “BUILD America 250 Act” brings a long-awaited ban a step closer for America’s horses to be protected from slaughter within and across our borders.
If enacted, this measure would strike at the core of the slaughter pipeline which ships just over 20,000 American horses across U.S. borders every year.
This is truly a significant moment in the long fight to end horse slaughter. A few weeks ago, Animals’ Angels shared the great news of the closure of Bouvry’s horse slaughter plant in Canada.
While the fight remains challenging, we stop briefly to celebrate these wins as we inch ever closer to ending this brutal and unnecessary self profiteering industry.