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Restore the U.S. Horse Industry

Please take positive action to restore economic viability and vitality to the U.S. horse industry

The GAO report on "HORSE WELFARE Action Needed to Address Unintended Consequences from Cessation of Domestic Slaughter" starkly documents the decline in horse welfare, and the economic decline of the horse industry due to the inappropriate federal intervention that closed the humane and regulated horse slaughter plants in the United States.



Because of this the GAO strongly suggests that Congress may want to reconsider the annual riders attached to the Agriculture Appropriations bill that prevents USDA inspection of horses. Alternatively they suggest that the other option for Congress is a complete and total ban on horse processing or transportation of horses for processing.



As pointed out by the GAO, and as testified to by practically every horse industry and agriculture organization in the Nation, bills such as S. 1176 and H.R. 2296 that seek to eliminate any possibility of humanely processing horses offer zero solutions and will only exacerbate the suffering of horses, increase the number of needless and wasteful deaths, cause more abandonment, neglect, pain, and misery, and continue the destruction of an entire sector of U.S. agriculture.



Therefore, as U.S. horse industry members, supporters, and concerned citizens we call on Congress to take proactive measures to stop the needless suffering of horses and people by 1) removing the annual riders from the Ag Appropriations bill that prevent USDA inspection on a voluntary fee basis (the processor pays for the inspection) which does not cost the taxpayer a dime, allows for the overnight creation of hundreds of private sector jobs, and allows the entire horse industry to begin to regain economic value, viability and vitality; and 2) oppose any and all measures that use the heavy hand of federal intervention such as S. 1176 and H.R. 2296 that do absolutely nothing to improve the welfare of horses, and only result in increased suffering.



For more information, or to get in contact with professional and knowledgeable horsemen and women please go to the website at http://United-Horsemen.org.