If you are having trouble viewing this message, go here: [link removed]

([link removed])

Tell Your Legislators to End the Slaughter of American Horses

Dear John,

The Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act, H.R. 961 and S. 2006, has been reintroduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and in the Senate by Sens. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Susan Collins (R-ME). This bill would ban horse slaughter in the United States, while ensuring that American horses are not exported out of the country for the same purpose.

AWI has long worked to expose ([link removed]) the rampant cruelty and dishonesty of this industry--from what happens inside the slaughterhouse to the kill-buyers who mislead horse owners in order to obtain animals. In a recent horrific case ([link removed]), a veterinary student was charged with acquiring dozens of horses under false pretenses. The woman had assured horse owners she would give their companion animals a loving home when in fact she was sending horses to slaughter for profit.

Undercover footage and firsthand observations by AWI staff of former US horse slaughter plants revealed appalling conditions: employees whipping horses in the face, horses who flipped over backward and were injured due to rough and abusive handling, and horses remaining conscious while shackled and hoisted by a rear leg to have their throats cut. Documents and photos collected by the USDA from these slaughterhouses show horses with broken bones protruding from their bodies, eyeballs hanging by a thread of skin, and open wounds.

In addition to the terrible abuse and cruelty that is inherent to horse slaughter, the food safety threats that plague the industry continue to gain attention here and abroad. Horses are not raised for human consumption in the United States and are regularly administered drugs that are expressly prohibited for use in food animals. Race horses, for example, are given a plethora of drugs and toxic substances to enhance their performance on the track--there are even documented cases in which cobra venom and cocaine have been used. It isn't only race horses, though: To alleviate pain, pet horses are regularly given medications considered unsafe for human consumption, such as phenylbutazone ("bute"). In 2015, the European Union banned imports of horse meat from Mexico, after an audit ([link removed]) of EU-certified Mexican horse slaughter plants found widespread animal welfare and food safety problems. The report noted that, over the time period examined, 87 percent of the horses slaughtered for human consumption in Mexico for export to the European Union came from the United States.

E M A I L    Y O U R    L A W M A K E R S ([link removed])

What You Can Do

Email, call or write your legislators today and urge them to cosponsor the SAFE Act (H.R. 961/S. 2006). You can send an email via AWI's Compassion Index. For more information on horse slaughter and how you can help, click here ([link removed]).

Please be sure to share our "Dear Humanitarian" eAlert with family, friends and co-workers, and encourage them to send a message also. As always, thank you very much for your help!

Sincerely,

Joanna Grossman, PhD
Equine Program Manager

P.S. Follow us on Facebook ([link removed]), Twitter ([link removed]), and Instagram ([link removed]) for other important animal protection actions and news.

Photo by Wolfgang Claussen

([link removed]) ([link removed]) ([link removed]) ([link removed]) ([link removed])

Animal Welfare Institute
900 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20003
(202) 337-2332 | www.awionline.org ([link removed])

The Animal Welfare Institute is a not-for-profit organization, founded in 1951 and dedicated to reducing animal suffering caused by people. We seek better treatment of animals everywhere: in the laboratory, on the farm, in commerce, at home, and in the wild.

D O N A T E ([link removed])

Forward to a Friend:
[link removed]
Unsubscribe:
[link removed]

Email Privacy Policy:
[link removed]

Update Profile:
[link removed]

900 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20003