Please inform the American Public about the horrors of horse slaughter and the way the USDA is attempting to undermine the will of Congress by allow a fee based system of inspection to continue the slaughter of American horses for foreign consumption. Also inform the American public about the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (AHSPA), bill number HR 503. This bill would be good for America's horses and equine industry.
I'm sure you are aware that the horse slaughterhouses operating in this country have hired former Texas Representative Charles Stenholm to lobby on their behalf. Since he is nothing more than a paid puppet of this industry, he will say anything to get you to vote against the AHSPA.
Mr. Stenholm and the groups he represents state that there will be a problem with horse welfare problem if slaughter is banned in our country. However, there are facts about this industry that completely undermine the "unwanted horse" rhetoric being spread by Charles Stenholm.
Fact: In the 1990's there was a sharp decline in the number is U.S. horses slaughtered. According to USDA records; 345,700 horses were slaughtered for export in 1990; ten years later in 2000 that number was 50,400. During this timeframe the number of horses slaughtered per year dropped by as many as 79,000, and was no rash of "unwanted horses." The reason the decline happened was due to slackening demand in Europe & Asia for horsemeat during that time.
Fact: 7,100 horses were imported from Canada for slaughter in the U.S. last year. How can there be an "unwanted horse problem" if the slaughterhouses have to import them??
Fact: The number of horses slaughtered has increased over the past two years due to increased demand abroad for U.S. horsemeat. The horse slaughter industry exists in the U.S. for one reason, to make a large profit satisfying Europe's voracious appetite for American horsemeat. It has nothing to do with saving "unwanted horses" from neglect, and everything to do with supply and demand.
The facts show Stenholm is not telling you the truth about the AHSPA!
Equines are American history and heritage and do not deserve to end up on the dinner table in other countries.
A recent witness at a slaughterhouse describes it as this: "You can hear the shrill whistles of the men driving the horses, the clop of their hooves on metal grating, and the
sickening snap of the captive bolt gun. Then you hear the horse either drop or begin thrashing. One horse struggled for
several minutes and you could hear the gun going off time and time
again as the man tried to hit its forehead. A lot of horses were
ineffectively stunned while I listened."
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