Archive Action Alerts 2005

How We Can End Slaughter

Despite being passed by landslide votes in both houses of Congress and the attempts to strip the amendment in committee, opponents have sought to undermine the Ensign-Byrd (Sweeney in the House) Amendment horse slaughter amendment by adding provisions for the foreign owned industry to continue it's operations for another 120 days*, thwarting the will of Congress and the American people.

Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-TX), chair of the agriculture appropriations subcommittee in the House, and a cattle rancher, ignoring Congressional rules modified the amendment language to delay it's implementation for 120 days while the horse slaughter plants will continue to operate. cutting the amendment time from 1 year to 8 months causing another approximately 25,000 horses to be slaughtered this winter.

A last minute provision amending the Federal Meat Inspection Act could prevent legislators from introducing new amendments removing funds for mandatory USDA horsemeat inspection next year, thereby prohibiting us from having this amendment inserted in the fiscal year 2007 budget.

A permanent halt to the slaughter of horses and ponies, mules and burros can only be achieved through passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, H.R. 503 in the House of Representatives and S. 1915 in the Senate.  

All people who want to see the needless, brutal suffering and killing end should call/write/fax their Representative and both Senators today and in weeks to come urging cosponsorship and immediate action on these important bills. Please DO check first to see if they have already cosponsored on our Alerts page list, updated daily by bill so you dont waste time asking officials who are with us already. Those, you should wholeheartedly thank and ask that they push for a hearing or scheduling of a vote.

The underhand, self-serving, backroom maneuvers of a very few of these men cannot be allowed to thwart the will of the people---YOU, and cause endless suffering to continue fir the horses that depend on us and serve us silently and faithfully.  The legislation must suceeed this time. We have the momentum, the media, we must keep them. Thank You. Let us know if you need written documents to refute disingenuous claims of the other side.

The critical numbers for chairs and ranking members (Dems) of the House and Senate committees and subcommittees have been corrected. If you saw lists like these painstaking prepared by others, all but the above are believed to be correct in those versions. UNLESS you live or work in the District (relevant to House members), or the state (for any senators you want to reach), they generally are less responsive. The committee chairs and ranking members work on this issue through their committee staff. We have listed the correct numbers and faxes for those eight important officials. Please make use of this information and help us all end slaughter.

Contact list for House Committee on Energy and Commerce

U.S. Horse Slaughter Will Halt
October 26, 2005

Washington-D.C.— October 26, 2005-- The brutal horse slaughter industry in the U.S. was dealt an appropriate and overdue blow on Wednesday, October 26 th when the U.S. House and Senate Agricultural Appropriations Committee retained the amendment that will temporarily halt the slaughter of America 's horses. The amendment will take effect in February 2006, and for 8 months stop the use of taxpayer dollars to fund USDA inspections of horses or horse meat at slaughter plants in the U.S. — effectively shutting the plants down. Although intended to be in force for one year, opponents of the amendment delayed its implementation for 120 days by threatening to remove the amendment.

The American Horse Defense Fund (AHDF) is grateful to Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA), John Ensign (R-NV), Robert Byrd (D-WV) and Congressmen John Sweeney (D-NY), Ed Whitfield (R-KY) and all supporters who spoke for America 's horses. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), Rep. Bill Young (R-FL), Rep. David Drier (R-CA) and Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) also played a role in the amendment's survival. These congressional leaders strongly defended both the amendment and the will of the vast majority of American citizens who oppose horse slaughter, appalled that healthy, young horses and ponies are butchered in the U.S. just to end up as delicacies in foreign countries. Although the amendment had overwhelming support in congress, passing both the House 269-158 and Senate 69-28, it could have been stripped out of the agricultural appropriations bill by opponents on the committee. Those efforts were spearheaded by the subcommittee's chairman, Representative Henry Bonilla (R-TX), whose state is home to two of the three horse slaughterhouses still remaining in the U.S.

Trina Bellak, AHDF founder and president commented, “It is shameful that we had to fight tooth and nail to keep such an overwhelmingly popular provision in this bill, but the will of the American public and many in congress prevailed. A 120 day delay to the amendment's enactment is a nasty curve ball thrown by Representative Henry Bonilla and other conferees who didn't have the backbone to vote on the record by name. Despite the efforts by the opposition, the brutal, inhumane killing will end February 1st. The American Horse Defense Fund is going to make that the Day of the Horse. This is a hard won victory for horses which will demonstrate that there is no justifiable reason for horse slaughter in our nation.”

Another milestone for horses was the October 24th introduction of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, S. 1915, by Senators John Ensign, (R-NV), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Robert Byrd (D-WV), Arlen Specter (R-PA), Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Trent Lott (R-MS), Jim DeMint (R-SC), Carl Levin(S-MI) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT). This bill and its companion in the House (H.R. 503) would bring about a permanent ban on horse slaughter in the U.S. Both bills have significant support from both ends of the political spectrum. “Many people admire and love horses for their majestic beauty and loyal service. They are also a symbol of freedom and are a significant part of our country's history. America 's horses deserve better than a brutal end at the slaughterhouse” stated Ms. Bellak. “Horses serve us in many ways from representing us in the Olympics to protecting our city streets. There is no other animal whose role or nature one can compare to the horse” Ms. Bellak added.

According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, the U.S. currently processes and exports 10,000 tons of horse meat a year from 50,000 domestic horses killed at three foreign-owned slaughterhouses in Texas and Illinois . Thousands of additional American horses are shipped to foreign slaughterhouses. The industry preys on riding horses, former race horses, wild horses, and foals born to PMU mares, horses that are kept pregnant so their urine can be used to make the hormone replacement drug Premarin®. The vast majority of the horses sent to slaughter in the U.S. are considered to be in “good” condition according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Guidelines for Handling and Transporting Equines to Slaughter . There is nothing humane about horse slaughter. Horses are treated brutally prior to and during slaughter and because of their highly developed senses, they suffer greatly.

Many alternatives do exist to horse slaughter. The American Horse Defense Fund recently published Alternatives to Auction and Slaughter: A Guide for Equine Owners, a first of its kind resource promoting the many viable and humane alternatives that exist to slaughter. The book offers a concise state by state listing of alternatives to slaughter and the hundreds of concerned groups that work to inform horse owners of these options and put them in touch with the help they need.

U.S. Horses are not Safe from Slaughter!!!
September 23, 2005

America 's horses are in jeopardy of losing a temporary reprieve from slaughter that was overwhelmingly approved recently by both the Senate and the House. Just days ago, a landslide vote in the Senate approved the Ensign-Byrd amendment to the Agricultural Appropriations bill, a measure that would halt horse slaughter in the U.S. for one year. However, the amendment that passed both Houses goes to a joint Conference Committee who will decide its fate with others before being signed into law by the President.

The Conference Committee will occur within the next two weeks so immediate action to safeguard it is critical. Horse slaughter proponents are working feverishly to ensure this potential victory for horses will be dropped from the Agricultural Appropriations bill. It is imperative that we rally forces to let the conferees from both Houses know that America wants the Ensign-Byrd amendment kept in the Agricultural Appropriations bill thereby giving our nation's horses a chance to be free from the terrible fate of slaughter. Give us a year and we'll show you the truth!

Your help is needed today! Please make calls to as many members of the Conference Committee listed below as you can and let them know that you want the Agriculture Appropriations amendment to stop federal funding of horse slaughter to stand. If you are a constituent of any of these individuals, please be sure to emphasize this when you call.  

You may also contact your U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative even if they're not on the Conference Committee, and ask their help in contacting the members of the Conference Committee on Agricultural Appropriations to advocate support for the amendment to stop federal funding of horse slaughter.

America 's Horses are off the Menu!!!
September 20, 2005

The American Defense Fund (AHDF) is delighted to announce that on Tuesday, September 20 th , the Ensign-Byrd amendment to the Agricultural Appropriations bill was passed by the Senate in a landslide vote of 68-29!!!

Because of this victory, America 's horses will effectively be protected for one year from being killed in three horse slaughterhouses in the U.S.– two in Texas and one in Illinois – and from being shipped live to slaughterhouses in Canada or Mexico to die and their meat exported to foreign countries for human consumption. The Ensign-Byrd amendment had bipartisan support and is identical to a measure that passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 269-158 in the U.S. House of Representatives back in June.  

Thank You!
Thank you to all of our members and supporters for your phone calls, letters and faxes to Congress regarding this important issue. Your efforts and dedication have made all the difference for America 's horses! Please take a moment to thank your legislators if they voted in favor of the Ensign-Byrd amendment. Letters to local newspapers are also in order to recognize those in Congress who made this victory possible with their vote.

AHDF has worked tirelessly to push for legislation to stop horse slaughter in the U.S. and has been at the forefront of educating members of the American public and legislators on the many existing alternatives to slaughter. Among AHDF's efforts has been the publication of Alternatives to Auction and Slaughter: A Guide for Equine Owners, a book which is the first of its kind resource dedicated solely to listing and promoting the many viable, humane alternatives to horse slaughter. This publication will assist in setting up a new infrastructure that will support humane treatment and kinder fates for our nation's horses, ponies and burros.

Don't Let Horses Become a Meal: Your Help Needed Now!

Please help stop the needless slaughter of tens of thousands of American horses destined for gourmet meals in European and Asian restaurants.

Republican Senator John Ensign (pronounced 'En-sin') from Nevada and Democratic Senator Robert Byrd from West Virginia are introducing an Amendment to the Agriculture Appropriations Bill which, if passed by the U.S. Senate, will prohibit the use of any federal taxpayer funds to slaughter horses for food exports, THEREBY HALTING SLAUGHTER. This will be coming up for a critical vote this or next week (Sept12-21st).

Please help halt this hideous practice of slaughtering American horses for gourmet gluttony. The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly previously passed the Sweeney-Spratt Amendment this year to prevent the use of tax dollars for horse slaughter. This is one step closer to victory, but it now all rides on the Senate passing the Ensign-Bryd Amendment.

What You Can Do!
Please ask your two U.S. Senators to support the Ensign-Byrd horse slaughter amendment. Since voting will take place very soon, please call, fax or email now, urging your Senators to vote YES on the upcoming Agriculture Appropriations amendment to stop horse slaughter.

Find your Senators' contact information on the bottom of this page and call or send them both an email and/or fax.

Or call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to speak to your Senators.

Ask your family and friends to also contact their Senators about this issue.

It is a crucial time for our nation's horses and they need our support now more than ever. Over the next few weeks, Congress will decide whether horses in the U.S. are protected as our loyal companions or sacrificed to slaughterhouses. Your show of support for horses can make all the difference.  

Horse Slaughter in the U.S.

Most Americans are aghast to learn that horses are slaughtered in the U.S. The facts of horse slaughter in the U.S. are hidden far from the public eye by the slaughter industry and its supporters which is exactly how they want to keep it. In 2004, over 65,000 horses were sent to their death at slaughterhouses in Illinois and Texas and their meat shipped abroad to countries including Belgium , France and Japan to be served up as $20 per plate delicacies. Still more American horses were shipped alive to Canadian slaughterhouses to be killed. But where do these horses come from? Currently any horse sent to auction in the U.S. could end up at the slaughterhouse including unwanted companion horses, retired race horses, young, old, healthy, or lame. Companion horses are also stolen to be sold for slaughter.

Seeking an End

Despite the cruelty and size of this horrific industry, there is hope that horse slaughter will finally end in the U.S. thanks to a number of federal bills soon to be considered by Congress. Please write or call your Representative and Senators immediately and ask that they show their support for our nation's horses and cosponsor the legislation listed below. Let them know that the American public will never view horses as livestock and that the appalling destruction of this cherished symbol of our nation's culture and history must immediately end.

Be persistent! Call or fax letters until you get a Yes or No on co-sponsorship!  

• Urge your Representative to cosponsor H.R. 503, The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act . H.R. 503 would end once and for all the butchering of American horses and their export for slaughter.

• Urge your Senators to cosponsor The Ensign/Landrieu bill (companion to HR 503) introduced by v eterinarian and U.S. Senator, John Ensign (R-NV) and Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA). Bill number will be available after September 6 th .

• Please share this Alert with family friends and co-workers and encourage them to speak up for our nation's horses as well.
• Write brief but impassioned letters to the editors of your local newspapers urging your US Representative and Senators to cosponsor this legislation now.

HORSE SLAUGHTER WILL CEASE-HOUSE VOTES 267-160 WITH AMERICA !

Washington , D.C. June 8, 2005-

After four long years the American Horse Defense Fund (AHDF), the country's leading, active horse protection national nonprofit is finally able to applaud the US House of Representatives, and in particular, Congressmen John Sweeney (R-NY), John Spratt (D-SC) Ed Whitfield (R-KY) and Nick Rayhall (D-WV), for their leadership and persistence in passing legislation that will end the needless and brutal slaughter or our horses, ponies, mules and burros. The vote of 267-160 was a ringing endorsement by the House. The huge grass roots calling effort by people from coast to coast really made a difference .

“We are elated, celebrating and deeply grateful” said AHDF president Trina Bellak, Esq., who has personally worked on this issue since 1994. Many organizations pooled their efforts. As the years have slowly passed, more and more American's learned that roughly 65,000 American horses are killed cruelly in one of the three foreign-owned horse slaughter plants that operate in the United States each year. The meat carved from these once noble, kind, trusting animals is shipped overseas to upscale meat markets and high-end restaurants. “Although the amendment that passed as part of the annual agriculture appropriations bill budget process only will go into affect this fall, it will give the nation and opponents time to see that the many alternatives to cruelly slaughtering our horses will work and replace slaughter” added Bellak. It will stop slaughter for one year, unless H.R. 503 passes too.

Despite overwhelming public support and 228 bipartisan cosponsors (of the House's 435 members), last year's legislative efforts to protect American horses failed to go to a vote when the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act was blocked by the House Agriculture Committee chairman, Bob Goodlatte (R-VA). Goodlatte spoke shameful untruths again in today's debate as did other members such as King from Iowa and Bonilla from Texas . “The will of the people was not done in the previous Congress, and until we pass actual legislation that is permanent, our work is not over” Bellak added. “The truth will prevail, we are in this to help horses, we just wish the ill-informed or ill-intentioned opponents would face it” she added. “It is unconscionable that for decades, we have been using federal taxpayer dollars to support a practice that the American public is overwhelmingly opposed to," said Representative John Sweeney (R-NY). "The amendment prohibits federal taxpayer dollars from being spent on facilitating the export of horsemeat from the United States for sale to countries abroad. Im pleased to see that my colleagues agree with me that this horrid inhumane treatment must end.”

Americans are shocked that our horses continue to suffer such unspeakable cruelty during both long grueling journeys to slaughter plants and at the plants themselves. Horses can be hauled without food, water, or rest for as long as 28 hours. The captive bolt pistol used in slaughter plants is not in anyway humane. Often not rendered unconscious (which is required by law), many horses are fully aware and sensitive to pain while proceeding through the slaughter process.

Sweeney also remarked, "We do not eat our horses in the United States and it is our moral
responsibility as a humane nation to protect our equine pets, companions and athletes from the cruelty of horse slaughter."

June 6, 2005

Dear Horse Lover:

Congress is poised to vote on legislation to stop the brutal slaughter of horses in the United States for human consumption in foreign countries.

Representative John Sweeney (R-NY), co-chair of the Congressional Horse Caucus, and Representative John Spratt (D-SC) are expected to introduce an amendment to the House Agriculture Appropriations bill that prohibits any federal taxpayer funds from being used to slaughter horses (it's the quick and short version of passing H.R. 503, much like what we all just managed on the issue of wild horses when we got the amendment passed May 19th that does basically what H.R. 297 did for wild horses).

Please take a moment to contact your Representative TODAY, urging their immediate support (and that he/she show up to vote) for the Sweeney/Spratt amendment to the House Agriculture Appropriations Bill.  Congress will consider the amendment sometime between the middle and end of the week of June 6th, so your immediate assistance is critical.   If you would like additional facts or need to find the name of any of your legislators, visit our Slaughter page. Or call the Capitol Hill Operator: (202) 224-3121 (they will help you reach your legislator).

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Please call the office of your Member of the House of Representatives.  Ask to speak to their staff member who deals with Agriculture Appropriations. Tell them you'd like the Representative to support the Sweeney/Spratt Amendment (prohibiting your tax dollars from being spent on horse slaughter) -- and respectfully request his or her specific position the issue.

You can also fax a letter to your Representative's office, asking them to support the amendment.

Your immediate assistance is essential to ensure Congress hears from an outpouring of concerned constituents. The AVMA/AAEP (vet association) is opposing the bill (shame on them), but we have to let Congress know ending slaughter at least for one year will prove it IS best for horses and that the vets are wrong.  Mention the AHDF book on alternatives to auctions and slaughter and the many alternatives that WONT burden rescues or the government. Please share our Action Alert with family, friends and coworkers, and encourage them to call and fax letters, too.   

Thank you so much for your help!

Sincerely,
Trina Bellak, President
American Horse Defense Fund

Click here for Facts About Horse Slaughter

April 27, 2005

Wild Horses Found Killed At Slaughter Plant

Washington, D.C.– At a press conference today on Capitol Hill, the American Horse Defense Fund expressed outrage about the 35 more wild horses, sold recently to the Rosebud Sioux Indians on South Dakota were needlessly slaughtered again at Cavel International in Illinois .. "This sale authority must stop now and forever. Wild Horse Annie is surely turning over in her grave. The blood of these 41 horses is on Senator Burn's hands (and any other senator who approved of the rider). Our national treasures have been senselessly, brutally and needlessly killed due to short-sightedness, stupidity, greed and incompetence. Anyone with responsibility should be ashamed.  

When we were first to hear of the tragedy on April 21st, we thought only six had been killed, now it stands at 41. It could have been 60 or 200. Virtually any and all of the wild horses sold recently under the new Burns sale authority are in jeopardy–the change was a disaster waiting to happen and now it has” said Trina Bellak, Esq., AHDF president . There are more than 7,500 now at immediate risk due to this recent and reprehensible change in the long-standing, widely supported law that passed Congress with a unanimous vote in 1971.

The 34 year old protection from slaughter granted to wild horses and burros roaming a number of the nation's states, was unilaterally repealed by Montana Senator Conrad Burns last December. There were no hearings, no public opportunity for comment and the vast majority of Congress was caught unaware. Bills now before Congress , H.R. 297 by West Virginia Representative Nick Rahall, and S. 576 by West Virginia Senator Robert C. Byrd, would reinstate the protections. The House bill has almost 50 cosponsors. “ Passage of these bills is truly extremely urgent” said Ginger Kathrens, Emmy award winning film maker and author of the book and TV PBS special, Cloud : Wild Stallion of the Rockies . Cloud and his band live in Montana and may well be subject to round up and dangerous fates later this year.

“Our nation's wild horses are under attack. They will not be safe again until these bills are passed and policy designed to preserve and protect them is the law. The BLM should halt all sales in light of undeniable proof that they cannot safeguard even small numbers of horses.” added Bellak.

Regulations specifying screening procedures and safeguards were suggested in writing to the BLM by the American Horse Defense Fund and members of a national coalition including The Humane Society of the US, American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign, Wild Horse & Burro Freedom Alliance, ASPCA, American Humane Association, Return To Freedom, International Society for the Protection of Mustangs & Burros, American Horse Protection Association and the Society for Animal Protective Legislation.

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How You Can Help Wild Horses

We share your concern for wild horses. Unfortunately, a very sad new chapter has opened and the first documented blood has been shed by the Burns rider. We have just learned that six wild horses were sold by the government and then slaughtered at a Belgian-owned slaughter plant in Illinois (Cavel International, in Dekalb) . An individual, Dustin Herbert of Meeker, OK,  claiming to want the horses for a church youth program, bought the horses Friday (4/15) and they were sold to Cavel and killed on Monday (4/18).

We must stop the commercial sale of our wild horses immediately...

1. Please call and email Secretary of Interior Gale Norton --
Phone: 202-208-3100/7351 and E-Mail: exsec@ios.doi.gov

Ask her to immediately stop the sale of wild horses through the Bureau of Land Management -- and to order the agency to draft, submit for public comment and then institute regulations that safeguard our wild horses.

Note: Phone calls are best – with a follow up E-mail – to be sure your      message is heard!

2. Contact your federal legislators to urge them to pass

H.R. 297/S. 576 (ask both of your senators) immediately to stop the slaughter of our wild horses and burros. 
Go to www.AHDF .org or call (202) 224-3121 to find your federal legislators.

3. Please circulate to everyone you know -- it is imperative we get federal legislation passed to prevent any more of our precious wild horses from going to slaughter!

4. Write short impassioned letters to the editors of your papers and any horse publications urging your US Rep and Senators to cosponsor (by name) now.

5. Send us any contact info for your local: papers, radio, TV. Numbers and emails are best. Thanks!

6. GetTHIS INFO AND OUR SAMPLE LETTERS (SEE ALERTS), TO your state's horse rescues, shelters (humane societies).....

7. Put up flyers in your tack and feed shops.

8. Send $ to help us put up bill boards in a number of key states. Note it as Funds For Wild Horses in any PayPal donation or check.

9. Buy one of our new car/trailer magnets that says: Save Our Wild Horses Before Its Too late. They are just $6 and are very noticeable.

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April 25, 2005

35 More Wild Horses Killed in the West
By JOHN HEILPRIN
.c The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Thirty-five more wild horses rounded up in the West were slaughtered Monday, but the Interior Department acted quickly to save the lives of 52 other mustangs by enlisting last-minute financial help from Mustang sports car maker Ford Motor Co.

The horses killed came from a broker who obtained them from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. The tribe traded 87 of the 105 aging horses it bought from the government for younger ones. Interior officials said they would review the arrangement to see if it violated a federal contract with the agency. Tribal officials were unavailable for comment.

``It's incredibly disappointing,'' Kathleen Clarke, director of Interior's Bureau of Land Management, told The Associated Press. ``It is not our intent to have these animals killed. That's why we acted very aggressively.''

The latest killings bring to 41 the number of wild horses slaughtered since Congress removed protections for mustangs in December. Just last week, six were slaughtered that had been sold to a private owner. Both incidents occurred at the Cavel International Inc. commercial packing plant in DeKalb, Ill.

BLM officials, tipped off by Agriculture Department inspectors, persuaded the plant managers to stop. That saved the lives of 16 mustangs about to be killed.

The plant agreed to give the horses food and water until BLM officials can pick them up. BLM officials also intervened to save 36 mustangs in Nebraska that were on their way to the Cavel plant. Those horses are to be picked up separately Tuesday and kept in the Midwest.

BLM, which captures the animals during government roundups aimed at reducing the wild population, has sold and delivered nearly 1,000 horses since the new law passed. BLM says 37,000 wild horses and burros forage its lands, 9,000 more than Western ranges can sustain.

Clarke said Monday she ordered an immediate halt to the delivery of some 950 more that have been sold. ``We will not be making any more deliveries until we can check on the situation,'' she said. ``We just want to reassess our program.''

Clarke said she'd already been talking with Ford about such a partnership even before she called the company for help Monday. ``We do not have any clear authority to buy private animals,'' Clarke said. So she got Ford to pledge $19,000 to ship and care for the mustangs.

The Sioux tribe had to sign an agreement with BLM that it would ``provide humane care'' to each of the animals, documents show. Clarke said Interior's top lawyer was investigating that arrangement and an earlier sale of six wild horses to an Oklahoma man.

On the Net:

BLM: http://www.blm.gov

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March 10, 2005

GOOD NEWS - Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) introduced S. 576 in the US Senate to restore language preventing the commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses. This is the companion bill to H.R. 297 by Rahall D-WV and Whitfield-R-KY. We need you all writing and calling to get your two US senators to cosponsors as well as getting your House Rep on board.  When enacted, this legislation will restore over 33 years of protections sneakily and inappropriately wrongly removed during the last Congress.

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January 25, 2005

Good News! Legislation has been introduced (1/25/05) to reverse the Burns Amendment to the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act.  As you know, the Burns Amendment opens the door to the slaughter of thousands of our wild horses.  Please write your U.S. Representative urging them to co-sponsor H.R. 297, introduced by Reps. Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) and Ed Whitfield (R-KY), which would restore the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses and burros.

Letters should be addressed to: The Honorable [Name Here], U.S. House of Representatives, Washington , DC 20515 .  Be sure to identify your Representative by going to www.house.gov or www.senate.gov.  Please note that letters sent via physical mail make a stronger statement than emails, which are too easily dismissed. It is also more effective to personalize your letter with your own words.

A letter template is provided for your convenience.

Dear Honorable ______________:

I am writing to urge you to co-sponsor H.R. 297 introduced by Representatives Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) and Ed Whitfield (R-KY).  This Bill reverses the amendment to the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse & Burro Act stealthily introduced by Senator Conrad Burns as a rider to the 2005 Appropriations Bill.  If allowed to stand, the Burns provision will lead to the slaughter of thousands of wild horses for human consumption abroad.

Our wild horses are a vital part of our national heritage. The law that was enacted for their protection thirty years ago was the result of a greater public outcry than over any issue except the Vietnam War, and was passed without a single dissenting vote. I am extremely distressed over the fact that this law enacted by the people for the people was eviscerated without so much as a hearing or opportunity for public review.

I respectfully request a prompt response from you stating your position with regard to H.R. 297 which would restore the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses and burros .

Signature
Name
Address

Members of the Committee on Resources

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Here is what you can do to help!

January 3, 2005

The battle for our wild horses will be won in the court of public opinion.
The government needs to face a sustained public outcry over its wild horse
management practices. It is our responsibility to not let
the issue die out over the New Year.

Below is a list of suggestions to help keep up the noise.
Please check this page regularly for updated action alerts.

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Support Letters

Please write your U.S. representative and two U.S. senators to protest the recent amendment to the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act introduced by Senator Burns as a rider to the 2005 Appropriations Bill, and to request a Congressional investigation into the government's wild horse management practices. Specifically:

• Inform them that the Burns Amendment to the 1971 Act will lead to the slaughter of this beloved part of our national heritage to supply horsemeat for human consumption abroad.
  
  
• Denounce the subversion of the democratic process that allowed a law enacted with major popular support to be eviscerated without so much as a hearing or opportunity for public review.
  
  
• Tell them that your tax-dollars would be better spent on an in-the-wild management program not based on removal.
  
  
• Denounce the undue influence of private cattle interests on public land management.
  
  
• Urge a call for a moratorium on round-ups until actual numbers of wild horses on public lands have been independently assessed.

Make sure to include your full name and address and to ask for a response on how your representative intends to address your concerns. Be firm but courteous.

Letters to Senators should be addressed to: The Honorable [Name Here], U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510 . Letters to House of Representatives should be addressed to: The Honorable [Name Here], U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 . Visit www.house.gov and www.senate.gov to identify your representative and senators in D.C.

Your letters matter: in assessing public opinion, Congress counts each letter received as the opinion of ten people. Please note that letters sent by physical mail make a stronger statement than emails, which are too easily dismissed. Click here for examples of eloquent support letters .

It is also important that we keep the pressure on Senator Conrad Burns (MT), who introduced the wild horse slaughter amendment, and Senator Harry Reid (NV), a primary supporter of the Burns Amendment. They need to hear from their constituents as well as from concerned citizens from all states protesting this underhanded bit of legislation.

Do not hesitate to also let Bureau of Land Management officials know how you feel about their removal policy and the sale of wild horses at livestock auctions. Request a moratorium on these sales and implementation of an in-the-wild management program. Contact Robert Abbey , Nevada State Director, Bureau of Land Management, 850 Harvard Way, Reno, NV 89502-2055 and Kathleen Clarke , Director, Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C Street NW Rm. 406-LS, Washington, D.C. 20240 .

Do not let form responses from government officials shake your confidence. This is why public education is key. The fact is that solutions need to be implemented to secure a place for our wild herds in the American landscape. A Congressional investigation into this issue is long overdue.

 

Alert #1
The Horse Slaughter Prevention Act

 Alert #2
American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign

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Tips for writing to Congress

Look up your representatives here:

Please join us and AHDF in continuing the ongoing efforts to stop equine abuse in our country!

© AHDF, Inc. 2005