The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act would place a permanent ban on all horse slaughter in the United States. The foreign owned slaughter industry needs to understand that Americans will never view horses as food. The American public is not about to forget our debt to horses, which are a symbol of our freedom and a cherished part of our country%u2019s history.
According to the USDA Guidelines for Handling and Transporting Equines to Slaughter, 90% of horses and ponies sent to slaughter are in good to excellent condition. Many are also young, trained horses. Many can have new lives with new owners, a variety of nonprofit organizations, and in law enforcement. The way horses are slaughtered is cruel and inhumane. They ride in cramped trailers, sometimes a double decker, for days at a time without food and water. When they arrive at the slaughterhouse, they are herded out with cattle prods then shot in the head with a %u201Ccaptive bolt pistol%u201D or %u201Cstun gun%u201D, which is designed to render an animal unconscious, not dead. The horse is often still alive as it is hung by its hooves and its throat is slit. Equating death at the slaughterhouse with humane euthanasia is laughable, as the slaughter process is anything but humane.
In closing we offer you this, Humans are the ones who domesticated horses. Ever since then, horses have helped us in time of war, carried us across the country, plowed our fields, and helped give chronically ill children hope. Is slaughter the only thanks they get? On behalf of those horses, which cannot speak for themselves, I would greatly appreciate your assistance in the passage and signing of this act.
