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Urge USDA to Finalize Rule to Protect Horses from Abuse

Dear John,

In January 2017, shortly before President Obama left office, the US Department of Agriculture, under Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, issued a rule to strengthen enforcement of the Horse Protection Act. The purpose of the rule was to crack down on the pernicious and pervasive practice of "soring," whereby unscrupulous trainers deliberately inflict pain on Tennessee walking horses' hooves and legs in order to produce an exaggerated high-stepping gait for competition.

Soring methods include applying caustic chemicals to a horse's limbs, using plastic wrap and tight bandages to "cook" those chemicals deep into the horse's flesh for days, attaching chains to strike against the sore legs, inserting hard objects such as screws into tender areas of the hooves, paring the soles of the feet down to sensitive tissue, and using salicylic acid or other painful substances to slough off scarred tissue in an attempt to disguise the sored areas.

The long-awaited and widely supported rule was awaiting publication when the Trump administration froze it. As the nearly finalized rule languished over the last four years, the USDA's enforcement of the HPA plummeted ([link removed]). Now that Secretary Vilsack has returned to head the USDA, he can reissue and finalize the rule.

The rule would end the failed system of industry self-policing, whereby employees of the organizations that host shows (and are typically exhibitors of Tennessee walking horses themselves) are relied upon to find evidence of abuse. It would ensure that only veterinary professionals and others who are trained and licensed by the USDA inspect horses. The rule would also ban the devices used to sore horses.

TAKE ACTION ([link removed])

What You Can Do
Please write to Secretary Vilsack ([link removed]) and urge the USDA to protect horses by reissuing the rule the department promulgated during his prior tenure. Share our alert with family, friends and co-workers, and encourage them to contact Secretary Vilsack as well.

Thank you very much for your dedication to protecting animals!

Sincerely,

Joanna Grossman, PhD
Equine Program Manager

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Photo by HSUS

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