The threat of horse slaughter plants opening on U.S. soil is looming, and congressional action is urgently needed to pass the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act (H.R. 1094/S. 541). This vital legislation will protect consumers from toxic horsemeat and prevent the cruel slaughter of America's horses on U.S. soil as well as their export for slaughter abroad.
In the past, plants that existed in the U.S. had a history of polluting local water supplies, lowering property values, and were a drain on local economies. American horses are not raised for food and over the course of their lives are given a wide variety of drugs and veterinary treatments that make their meat unfit for human consumption. Horse slaughter is fraught with terror, pain, and suffering and now that suffering might be taking place again on U.S. soil.
The threat of horse slaughter plants opening on U.S. soil is imminent, and the SAFE Act is needed to permanently keep horse slaughter plants out of the U.S. and to end the export of horses abroad for slaughter. This vital bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to make it illegal for horses or their meat to be sold or transported in interstate commerce by any person who knows that the horses or horsemeat are intended for human consumption. Horses in the U.S. are treated with a variety of both legal and illegal drugs not approved for use in animals intended for human consumption.
