The Humane Society of the United States praises the House Judiciary Committee for favorably passing legislation to ban the slaughter of American horses for human consumption overseas, as well as the export of American horses to other countries for slaughter, and urges swift passage of the bill by the full House. House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) introduced the bill, H.R. 6598, known as the Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008.
"H.R. 6598 will take American horses off the menu for good," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. "Horses are an American icon who deserve better than to be shipped hundreds of miles in unbearable conditions to slaughter plants in Mexico and Canada where they will be cruelly slaughtered for human consumption. I thank Chairmen Conyers and Scott and Congressman Burton for their leadership and the bipartisan group of legislators who voted to pass this bill on to the House floor for vote."
Butchering horses is a particularly cruel end for these loyal and trusting creatures. HSUS undercover investigators followed "killer buyers" transporting horses thousands of miles from auctions to feedlots to interstate highways, and documented the horrific cruelty and abuse of this transport. They also documented a barbaric method of slaughter on a kill floor in Juarez, Mexico. Thousands of horses are stabbed with short knives, a method that leaves them paralyzed and unable to breathe. The animals are still conscious as they are hoisted up by a chain on a rear leg and their throats are slit.
Video footage from The HSUS' horse slaughter investigations can be viewed and downloaded for broadcast or news websites at video.HSUS.org.
Timeline:
July 2008
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