Call on Congress to Stop the Slaughter of American Horses
Dear John,
The Save America's Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act, H.R. 3355, has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Vern Buchanan (R-FL). 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 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. 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 during slaughter. 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.
Americans overwhelmingly support a permanent ban on horse slaughter, but tens of thousands of horses continue to be exported to Canada and Mexico each year to meet a gruesome end in slaughterhouses abroad. Horses unfortunate enough to wind up in the slaughter pipeline typically endure long, overcrowded journeys without adequate food, water, or rest. The entire process of horse slaughter--from transport conditions to rough handling at the slaughterhouse to improper stunning methods--is inherently cruel.