American Horse Defense Fund, Inc.

Last year, Sonoma was ranked third in the state of Maryland for Pony Jumpers.
Sonoma has easily jumped four feet and loves it. If only all the others in captivity were so fortunate.

Here is the Sweeney, Spratt, Whitfield, Rahall amendment to the House Agriculture Interior Appropriations bill. We won 268-158 Wednesday, June 8th. This was a great victory....now it's on the Senate.

"An amendment to prohibit use of funds in the bill to pay salaries and expenses of personnel to inspect horses under the Federal Meat Inspection Act or under the guidelines issued under the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 ".

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."

On Thursday, May 19th, the US House voted 249 to 159 to pass an Amendment to the annual interior appropriations bill so no wild horses or burros may be sold by the BLM in fiscal year 2006 (which begins in October 2005). While this was a cliff hanger, and a great victory for advancing the cause of saving our wild horses, and for ending slaughter we hope, we still have major hurdles. Please help us by quickly contacting your Representative if he/she votes yes, urge him/her to co-sponsor HR 297 and 503 if they haven't. If they voted against the Amendment, find out why and let them know the truth.

We also need you to get your two senators on board on the bill to save the wild horses, S.576 and the new bill to end slaughter (# available this week). See our ALERTS pages and tell others. We can also use monetary donations now to help with costs associated with this huge effort.

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

Washington, D.C.-February 1, 2005 - The brutal and needless slaughter of America's faithful and noble horses and ponies may soon finally be a shameless thing of the past due to today's reintroduction into the U.S. House of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act . The American Horse Defense Fund (AHDF) , the nation's leading horse protection, education and advocacy nonprofit, applauds the bill's lead sponsor, Senator John Sweeney (R-NY). This bill had 228 cosponsors in the previous Congress but wasn't voted on.

This new versions would prevent American horses from being slaughtered for human consumption within the US and outside of the US . In 2004, three foreign-owned U.S. horse slaughterhouses in Texas and Illinois slaughtered over 65,000 horses, another 20-25,000 were sent to slaughter in Canada and Japan . After the horses are slaughtered and processed, the meat is shipped to France , Belgium , other European countries and Japan , where horsemeat is considered a healthy delicacy. “The Europeans don't seem aware that horses in the US are dosed with all kinds of medicines, preparations and wormers all their lives–those containers are all marked “not for use in animals intended for human consumption”, said AHDF president, Trina Bellak, Esq. Horsemeat is not healthy.

“This inhumane and disgusting practice, which only serves to promote animal cruelty, needs to be brought to an end,” said Sweeney. “Support for this legislation is stronger than ever, and I look forward to the day when the American horse no longer ends up on a dinner plate overseas.”

A series of polls show that Americans overwhelmingly support a ban on the slaughter of horses for human consumption. This should come at no surprise because horses in the United States are not raised for food.” Despite a few state laws barring this barbaric practice, the slaughter of horses for human consumption continues because of an absence of a strong federal law to prohibit it. The time for such a law is now," added Bellak

There are many alternatives to slaughtering horses and ponies. In fact, the American Horse Defense Fund hopes has a new book available called: Alternatives to Auction and Slaughter: A Guide For Equine Owners ( A Better Way ). The book is available on CD or bound and lists a vast array of alternatives and where and what they are. The plentiful resources for alternatives will ease the transition after the bill becomes law.

On the heels of the Senate’s 'National Day of the Horse' Resolution,
death sentence for wild horses issued from Congressional back rooms

December 13, 2004 (Washington, DC) – Just two days after the U.S. Senate passed Resolution 452 naming December 13, 2004 the National Day of the Horse, that same body passed an omnibus appropriations bill with language gutting longstanding protections for wild horses that currently disallow their sale for slaughter.

The resolution language bestows recognition that horses, both wild and domestic, are a “living link to the history of the United States,” that they are a “vital part” of the “collective experience” of the U.S. and that they “deserve protection and compassion.” Ironically, the omnibus language, which was slipped in surreptitiously by Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) and subsequently passed by an unsuspecting Congress, mandates that any excess horse or burro be sold “without limitation” to the highest bidder “if the animal is more than 10 years of age” or “has been offered unsuccessfully for adoption at least 3 times.” This means thousands of wild horses will be taken from holding facilities or the range and sent directly to auction, where they are likely to be bought for slaughter by “killer buyers”. Killer buyers purchase and transport the horses to one of three foreign-owned plants in the U.S. that slaughter horses for human consumption in Europe and Asia. All are looking to make a “killing” financially and all will soon be aware of their new windfall engineered by Senator Burns.

Protection for wild horses in the U.S. was mandated under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act after decades of assaults on their populations. Hundreds of thousands of horses and burros were summarily shot, rounded up and sent to slaughter for the pet food industry, and removed from the plains permanently due to competition from ranchers who graze their cattle on public land at minimum cost. At the turn of the century, there were some two million wild horses but by the time the federal law was passed, there were estimated to be less than one percent left. There are an estimated 4.1 million head of cattle and 36,000 wild horses on our public lands, yet the cattle industry has maintained a steady drumbeat against the horses, claiming that there is still not range enough for their livestock. Today, less than 3% of the beef consumed in the United States is grazed on public lands, at a minimum cost to the taxpayer of $128 million a year according to a 2002 report commissioned by the Center for Biological Diversity.

Velma Johnston, aka Wild Horse Annie, was the woman responsible for the passage of the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act through her tireless efforts to stop the slaughter of America’s majestic wild horses and protect them permanently. She inspired more mail to Congress for wild horses than on any other issue, with the exception of the Viet Nam war. Johnston must be turning over in her grave with Senator Burns’ provision to send America’s beloved wild horses and burros to slaughter.

Since the announcement of this omnibus wild horse rider, citizens have been flooding their federal legislators’ offices with calls demanding protections for America’s wild horses. The undersigned 14 organizations representing a combined constituency of over 12 million members call on Congress to “be mindful” of wild horses, as the Senate Resolution for a National Day of the Horse requires, and to quickly pass legislation correcting this tragic error when they reconvene in 2005. We promise to work tirelessly until America’s wild horses and burros are safe from the slaughterhouse once again.

American Horse Defense Fund
American Horse Protection Association
American Humane Association
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign
Animal Protection Institute
Doris Day Animal League
The Fund for Animals
The Humane Society of the United States
International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros
Middleburg Humane Foundation
Society for Animal Protective Legislation
Wild Horse Organized Assistance
Wild Horse & Burro Freedom Alliance

Pictured from left to right
Joey Ogburn, Kathryn Wochinger, Shelley Sawhook, Valerie Stanley, Sen. Ensign, Julie Roven,
Julie Caramante, Susan Pizzini, Christa Meyers, Diana Meyers, Patricia Bewley, Marlene Murray
and Kim Meagher

Above are only a few of the people who attended the National Day for Horses on Capitol Hill with Senator John Ensign (R-NV), sponsor of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. The groups represented are AHDF, R.A.C.E., Habitat for Horses, and Red Horse.

AHDF's former PMU mascot, Amber Dawn - June 30, 2004
Is now three years old, and is just starting under saddle and loves the trails her mom, Nicole takes her on; Amber was saved from slaughter as a weanling in North Dakota.
To see a photo of this lovely girl, see Amber.

From Finish Line To Slaughterhouse - June 16, 2004

It was the 1986 Kentucky Derby. Against 18-1 odds, Ferdinand left the pack and entered history.

But two years ago, after being sold to stud in Japan, Ferdinand was slaughtered. As CBS News Correspondent Wyatt Andrews reports, it was probably for food, just as tens of thousands are slaughtered every year in the United States. But the slaughter of a champion has outraged the thoroughbred community in America. ...more

The equine slaughterhouse in DeKalb, IL has re-opened its doors after a fire destroyed the plant in 2002. Cavel will slaughter horses on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Work to pass the Federal bill, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act is now even more important, and time is short.

Bill To Ban Horse Slaughter In Illinois Fails! - May 28, 2004 Illinois House Bill 649 and its Fourth Senate Amendment (formerly SB 1921) the legislation that will ban the slaughter of horses in Illinois, preventing Belgian-owned corporation Cavel International from opening and operating its new horse slaughterhouse being rebuilt in DeKalb, Illinois, has failed to pass the Illinois House of Representatives on Friday May 28, 2004. Although it was expected to pass the powerful lobbyists for Cavel persuaded key Representatives to betray our horses by changing their vote at the last moment. Although this involves a serious setback in the fight to end horse slaughter in America the war is not over. Currently there are two legislations pending in Congress, HR 857 in the US House of Representatives and S. 2352 in the US Senate, that will ban horse slaughter and the trade of live horses for slaughter to Mexico, Canada and Japan. We need to make sure these legislations pass Congress.

Please write, fax, and call as many U.S. Senators as possible asking them to support and cosponsor S.2352. Please contact as many U.S. Representatives as possible requesting them to support and cosponsor HR 857. These bills must be passed before the November elections, time is of the essence!

Donations are needed to help fund a letter going to 15,000 OBG/YN's now!
Please send your most generous tax deductible donation now so we may stop the slaughter of the 25,000 innocent foals killed yearly due to the high use of Premarin and PremPhase"