VQHA Public Policy Information

Member Help Needed TODAY!

The Senate Committee on Science, Commerce & Transportation has a planned mark-up session on Wednesday, April 25th for S.311, The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. This means the committee may debate, amend, or rewrite the proposed legislation, and may vote on whether or not to send the bill to the entire Senate for its consideration.
 
We hope you'll take a moment to let your Senators and the Committee know that you oppose S.311 and to review the facts about horse slaughter with them so that they understand this bill would make for bad policy. We cannot let the emotional rhetoric of some animal rights activists overwhelm reason. Horse processing is a necessary part of the horse industry and ensures that a humane, federally-supervised end-of-life option is available for unwanted horses.
 
Hundreds of you have sent us comments about how this legislation would affect the horse industry generally as well as your unique situations (We've included a few of our favorite recent submissions at the bottom of this e-mail). Now is the time to share those thoughts with your elected representatives and the public. It has never been more important for your voices to be heard.
 
ACTION CHECKLIST (to be completed by April 25th - this Wednesday!):
 
• CALL the Committee on Science, Transportation and Commerce and urge them to VOTE NO on S.311. The majority staff number there is 202-224-0411 For Individual committee member contact details, see http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/committees.tt?commid=scomm
•  CALL your Senators and urge them to VOTE NO on S.311 (Find your senators phone number by selecting your state here: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm)
•  CALL your local newspaper and ask them to report on the effects your community is already seeing from the unavailability of horse processing in the U.S. We want them to hear YOUR story (If they want even more info, tell them to e-mail Leslie at info@commonhorsesense.com).
•  WRITE a letter to your local newspaper ASAP (so that it can be published before April 25th) telling your fellow citizens why "The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act" is bad legislation and why you're opposed to it.
• E-MAIL me (Leslie, the commonhorsesense.com manager) and let me know what you've done in anticipation of next week's Senate action. Our favorite e-mails to receive here at commonhorsesense.com are those telling us that you've TAKEN ACTION on this important issue.
 
S.311 doesn't solve any "problems". It creates them. Consider this:
-  If the bill is passed, 100,000 unwanted horses a year will have no where to go and the Animal Rights groups supporting the legislation have offered no solutions on how they plan to care for them.
-  The export of horses to Mexico for slaughter this year is already more than double the number during the same time last year.
- Taxpayers are already paying millions of dollars each year to care for unadoptable wild horses and burros to live in dirt pens on federal land because they are barred from going to slaughter. Who is going to pay to care for 100,000 unwanted horses annually if this legislation passes? Unless The Humane Society of the United States is planning to change its name to Horse Shelter of the United States, I don't see anyone offering up the hundreds of millions of dollars this is going to cost taxpayers or local animal control facilities.
- Livestock auction managers have been writing to us that the bottom of the horse market has fallen out and after not being sold at auction, many owners won't return to reclaim the horse. They'd rather leave it abandoned to the auction house to "deal with."
- The current system for humanely dealing with unwanted horses has been working for over 100 years. Now the system is being threatened by activists with broader agricultural agendas and S.311 and HR 503 seek to eliminate it completely. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
 
*If you want any more detailed information or sources for any of these points, drop me an e-mail and I'd be happy to help.
 
I'll be updating commonhorsesense.com this week with some recent articles, including a great Associated Press article that examines the problems some parts of the country are already seeing with horse abandonment. If you've seen articles in your local papers that you'd like us to post on the site, send them my way. As always, there are tons of materials and information on the site that you are free to use. We just ask that you keep us updated on your efforts (and a BIG thank you to everyone who has been doing so!).
 
I hope you'll take action today and do your part to ensure this option remains viable for all U.S. horse owners. Thanks again for all you do to support the welfare of unwanted horses and the preservation of the only option for federally supervised humane euthanasia for unwanted horses.
 
-Leslie, manager, commonhorsesense.com

VQHA Sample Letter:

Dear Senator Warner/Webb,

I understand that Senate Bill S.311, "The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act", is once again under consideration. As a equine professional who has devoted his long career to the care and welfare of animals, I would ask you to vote against this well-meaning but misguided bill. Compassionate as it might seem on the surface, the inability to be able to terminate the life of these (regrettably) unwanted horses will I fear lead to further neglect and suffering. Those who would promulgate this Bill have not indicated how they are prepared to care for these increasing number of unwanted horses that will inevitably accumulate.  

Sincerely,

VQHA promotes responsible ownership of your American Quarter Horse.

For more information, please refer to the newly created website for the Unwanted Horse Coalition.

The Unwanted Horse Coalition, a broad alliance of equine organizations that have joined together under the American Horse Council, is concerned that some horses may slip through the various safety nets within the equine industry. Too many owners are unaware of, or do not give enough thought to, the available options, services and assistance available in the industry to help them ensure that their horse has caring and humane support throughout its life.

The Unwanted Horse Coalition will help educate the horse industry about this issue and help people learn to Own Responsibly.

Contact Information:

Warner, John
(R - VA) Class II
225 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2023
Website Contact

Webb, Jim
(D - VA) Class I
144 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4024
Website Contact

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AQHA has developed this manual, Understanding Your Options For The Unwanted Or Unusable Horse, to help you explore the many options that are available to all horse owners. Above all, we want to ensure that your horse’s health and welfare are at all times paramount to every other consideration.