Thank you for publishing the story, “Foal for Love,” about the plight of the PMU mares and foals. It’s great to see people becoming involved with rescuing them from slaughter. Last year a little over 42,000 American horses were slaughtered for human consumption abroad. There are currently two operational equine slaughterhouses in Texas, and a third is being rebuilt in Illinois. All are owned by foreign interests.
The horse slaughter industry prefers to operate in the shadows, as it has for many years. However, this business has been getting a lot of unwanted attention as an increasing number of disapproving Americans have become informed. Like dogs and cats, horses are thought of as companion animals in our culture.
There is legislation currently making its way through Congress, which would ban horse slaughter in this country, as well as prohibit transportation of horses outside of the U.S. for this purpose. It is known as the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 857), it’s currently before the House Committee on Agriculture. Many Thoroughbred organizations support this legislation. The Congressman for this district, Henry Waxman, signed on as a co-sponsor recently.
In l998, California enacted the Prohibition on Slaughter of Horses and Sale of Horsemeat for Human Consumption Initiative Statute. This act prohibited the slaughter of California horses and the possession or sale of horsemeat for human consumption. Illinois is poised to enact similar legislation.
For more information, please visit www.kaufmanzoning.net/ horsemeat/index.htm or www. justsaywhoa.org.
Duane L. Burright, Jr.