For many decades, well over 100,000 innocent horses were shipped to brutal deaths in slaughterhouses, both in the U.S. and across its borders.
Because of a massive grassroots effort, U.S. horse slaughter plants were closed over 14 years ago when funding for USDA horse meat inspectors was removed from the annual federal budget.
Legal efforts by Front Range Equine Rescue in 2012-2013 led the charge to prevent U.S. slaughter plants from reopening until funding was restored for horse meat inspections. FRER’s efforts helped to delay any start-up, just long enough until a new federal budget was ready to pass; a budget which again removed funding for USDA inspections of horse meat.
However, a permanent ban must be passed through federal legislation.
The good news is the number of horses being sent to slaughter has declined significantly for at least 10 years.
The bad news is that just over 20,000 horses each year, both domestic and wild, are still caught up in the dangerous slaughter pipeline.
Horses are not disposable trash. They deserve so much better than being used up, cast off, and bought by kill buyers who send them on a terrifying journey to slaughter. The cruelty begins long before a horse reaches the kill box.
Undercover investigations have revealed the dark side of the horse industry — an industry where too many “horse professionals” turn a blind eye to slaughter. There are equine organizations which claim slaughter is a “necessary evil”, and some employ lobbyists to prevent legislation to end this grisly trade.
But when we stand together and speak up for the horses, great progress can be made to end this grossly inhumane business and silence the “bone saws” for good.
Remember, no matter where it’s done or what method to kill is used, horse slaughter is NEVER humane! And there are numerous humane alternatives to slaughter for all horses.
If passed, current legislation known as the S.A.F.E. Act (Save America’s Forgotten Equines) will provide a ban on horse slaughter in the U.S. and across its borders. With bipartisan support for this bill, now is the time for an even greater push to get elected officials on board to vote “YES” for this bill to pass into law.
Americans do not eat horses. America’s horses are not raised or regulated as a food animal. They receive numerous products and medications over the course of their lives which contain substances banned for use in food animals. Their flesh is contaminated by these banned substances and could have dangerous to deadly consequences for human consumption.
Please join us as we seek JUSTICE for thousands of innocent horses trapped in the slaughter pipeline because of ignorance, lack of owner education or just plain cruelty.
Contact your two U.S. Senators (www.senate.gov) and your U.S. House Representative (www.house.gov) to urge their support for the S.A.F.E. Act (Senate bill is S.2037; House bill is H.R.3475).
WARNING: VIDEO CLIPS ARE BRIEF, BUT DISTURBING
If we had not intervened, these horses were likely to either die on a kill lot or be loaded onto trucks for a hellish trip to slaughter (and unlikely to survive the transport for some of them).
How many people saw these horses as they silently suffered before ending up in the hands of a kill buyer?