On February 27, the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act was reintroduced in Congress to end horse slaughter within the U.S. and across its borders.
The Act has bipartisan sponsorship from Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and Graham (R-SC). Reps Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) are sponsors from the House side.
The SAFE Act would expand the Dog and Cat Meat Prohibition Act (passed as part of the 2018 Farm Bill) to extend protections to equines also.
Most importantly, the SAFE Act would permanently stop the operation of U.S. horse slaughter facilities and close a loophole that allows for the ongoing export of American horses to be butchered outside of the U.S.
In 2024, we saw the lowest number of horses shipped to slaughter in decades. It is imperative that now action is taken to protect America’s horses against slaughter for human consumption.
Outside of the cruelty involved, remember that America’s horses are NOT raised or regulated as a food animal. Their meat is tainted by numerous substances banned for use in food animals; products containing these substances are given to horses over the course of their lives for their health care. These include vaccinations, wormer, medications, fly spray and other topicals, pain relievers and others (just read the labels of items found in barns across the country with a warning to not use if horse is intended for slaughter/human consumption).
Here’s what you can do today:
Make a phone call to your U.S. representative and two U.S. Senators say:
“Hello, I am a constituent and equine advocate and I’m calling to ask Representative/Senator [insert your representative’s or senator’s last name] to cosponsor the Save America’s Forgotten Equines Act (H.R. 1661/S. 775) , also known as the SAFE Act, to end the slaughter of American horses for human consumption.”