American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act

According to the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS), this week will be a make-or-break time in Congress for horses.

The last three horse slaughter plants in the U.S., all foreign owned, have been shut down for now. To permanently ban horse slaughter in the country and prohibit horses from being exported for slaughter, where they face longer transports and an even more grisly death, Congress must enact permanent protections for horses, according to HSUS literature.

On April 24th a National Call-In Day will be held where citizens may contact Congress to ask them to end horse slaughter.

On April 25th, the Senate Commerce Committee will vote on S. 311, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson serves on this committee and may be reached at 202-224-5922. After making your call urging her to vote Yes on S. 311 you can then send a follow-up email to Hutchinson at hsus.org.

The next day, a bill known as H.R. 249 to restore protections for wild horses from commercial sale and slaughter will be brought up for a vote in the full House of Representatives. U.S. Representative Kay Granger may be reached at 202-225-5071. Citizens are asked to call Granger to urge her to vote Yes on H.R. 249.

"We have made tremendous progress and thousands of horses have already been saved from slaughter," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of HSUS in a press release. "But we need to finish the job and shutter this barbaric business for good."

Pacelle said in an email that now more than ever the country needs to pass S. 311 to stop the slaughter of American horses in the U.S. or over the border, once and for all.

A recent investigation by HSUS documents the abuses of American horses quietly funneled to slaughter plants in Mexico, Canada, and three foreign-owned plants in the U.S.

Since 1971, wild horses were protected from slaughter until a 2005 midnight rider to the omnibus budget bill allowed them to be commercially sold and sent to slaughter, according to HSUS.