HORSE SLAUGHTER IN THE US....... This is a very important issue for all Americans if this law goes into effect every state in our union will have a Horse Slaughter Industry Plant. Each year, more than 100,000 American horses—working, racing and companion horses and even children’s ponies—are inhumanely transported long distances in cramped trailers without food, water or rest. Then they are brutally slaughtered, and their meat is shipped overseas for human consumption. The majority of these horses are young, healthy animals. In January of 2014 Congress blocked this bill and no Horses were to be slaughtered. We need to do this again, please sign the petitions, speak with your Representatives to Amend this Bill and stop HORSE SLAUGHTER!!!!!.

 Horse slaughter for human consumption has not occurred here since 2005, but if  our Representative's do not ensure that no federal funds go to reopening the plants, cattle farmers will face a serious problem. When horsemeat fraudulently labeled as beef, probably because it is cheaper for supermarket suppliers than real beef, was discovered across EU in 2013, this was a huge scandal.  Newspapers reported that frozen beef sales dropped more than 40%.  If horse meat is produced here in the US, it could easily infiltrate our food supply, accidentally or fraudulently.  There are many State Representatives who are incredible advocates for our horses and the cattle industry.  So I urge everyone to make sure your State Representative in your District knows your feelings and the outrage that will be felt throughout the United States.  I have witnessed slaughter on the ranches of Hawaii, it is so violent, and it feels like your heart is totally torn out of your own body.  One never forgets the screams....... of the animals!!!!!

I have personally helped and wrote letters to 3 newspapers in my state and addressed them to the Editor -in-Chief, and spoke to our Representative's staff and urged to help AMEND and or STOP this DEVASTATING LAW, our horses need our protection, just as much as our dogs, cats, wolves, lions, and all of our animal species.  I have attached a Fact Sheet from the ASPCA for your information....  Please lets do our job,  Mahalo    

                             

•     "WE ARE THEIR VOICE"
• Send an email, write a letter or call your representatives, asking them to
  protect horses from slaughter and the public from tainted horse meat.
• Call (Find your federal or state legislators)
• Visit (Find your federal or state legislators)

    ASPCA                                                                             FACT SHEET...

 we are their voice   

  

 Support the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act (H.R. 1942 / S. 1214) 

Protect America’s horses from the cruelty of slaughter and protect consumers from toxic horsemeat. 

The Safeguard America Act was introduced in the House by Reps. Frank Guinta (R-NH), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Vern Buchanan (R-FL), and Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM), and in the Senate by Sens. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and Susan Collins (R-ME). 

What will the SAFE Act do? The SAFE Act will prohibit the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the U.S. and their export for that purpose. This bill will also protect consumers from exposure to toxic horsemeat. Does horse slaughter differ from other slaughter? Horse slaughter is especially inhumane because horses, skittish by nature, are extremely difficult to stun. They often endure repeated blows to the head and sometimes are alive and kicking during dismemberment. USDA inspectors cited rampant cruelty violations at plants previously operating in the U.S. How does horsemeat differ from other meat? American horses are not raised for food. Over their lifetimes they are routinely given hundreds of drugs and other substances (legal and illegal) that have not been approved by the FDA for use in animals intended for human consumption. A recent New York Times article emphasized the hodgepodge of drugs regularly administered to American race horses and the resulting food safety threats: “Laboratories cannot yet detect the newest performance-enhancing drugs [used in horse racing], while trainers experiment with anything that might give them an edge, including … cobra venom, Viagra, blood doping agents, stimulants and cancer drugs.” The shocking discovery of horsemeat in beef products in the U.K. and the European Union forecasted the threat to American health that could result if horse slaughter proponents were successful in bringing the grisly business back to the U.S. More recently, the European Union (EU) banned imports of horse meat from Mexico to the EU as of January 1, 2015 after a scathing audit of EU-certified Mexican horse slaughter plants, which kill tens of thousands of American horses each year. 

The report stresses that because horses are not raised as food producing animals in Mexico or the United States, but are instead considered companion animals and partners in work and sport, they are routinely given many medications that are illegal for use in food animals. The audit also found gross deficiencies in horse welfare protections throughout the Mexican horse slaughter system. How do horse slaughter plants affect communities? Slaughter plants inflict environmental damage, drain local economies, and diminish property values. The minimal number of low-paying, dangerous jobs that slaughter plants offer cannot compensate for the enormous environmental and financial burdens on surrounding communities. 

What do Americans think about horse slaughter? A 2012 national poll revealed that 80% of Americans favor a ban on horse slaughter and acknowledge our responsibility to protect these intelligent, sensitive animals from slaughter. Horses are our companions and a historically significant part of American culture. We owe them a kinder, more dignified end of life than to be cruelly slaughtered and served up on foreign dinner plates.