![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sitaangelAnimal rights groups press Congress to halt the slaughter of horses
By Dave Montgomery
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON - Animal rights groups mounted a final effort Tuesday to push
through a ban on U.S. horse slaughterhouses in the closing days of
Congress, displaying graphic videos and wielding a letter of support
from more than a fourth of the Senate's 100 members.
The legislation, which would shut down three processing plants in Texas
and Illinois, passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 263-146
in mid-October after a high-profile campaign that included celebrities
such as country music star Willie Nelson and actress Bo Derek.
Animal rights groups and their supporters say the horses are kept and
transported in inhumane conditions as part of a "slaughter pipeline"
that reaches across the U.S. border and ends with brutal deaths.
Opponents of the bill argue that the U.S. plants are needed to prevent a
surplus of unwanted horses and that the horses are killed instantly and
humanely.
With the outgoing Republican-controll ed Congress scheduled to adjourn by
the weekend, supporters of the measure are frantically trying to push
the bill through the Senate, acknowledging that it could be squeezed out
by more pressing issues, including a giant spending measure and Robert
Gates' nomination to be defense secretary.
Twenty-seven senators, including the bill's sponsors, Sens. John Ensign,
R-Nev., and Mary Landrieu, D-La., called on the Senate leadership to
allow a vote on the bill and "end this slaughter once and for all."
Despite the last-minute push, the bill faces stiff opposition. Brent
Gattis, a senior policy adviser at the Washington law firm of Ollson
Frank & Weeda who represents the industry, said that as many as 11
senators have indicated that they'll take steps to block consideration
if Senate leaders bring it up.
The bill's signers included members from both parties. Among them: Sens.
Trent Lott, R-Miss., Ted Stevens, R-Alaska; Hillary Rodham Clinton,
D-N.Y.; Joseph Biden, D-Del.; John Kerry, D-Mass., and California's two
Democratic senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.
The Humane Society of the United States and the Society for Animal
Protective Legislation released video footage showing horses being put
to death in slaughterhouses in Juarez, Mexico, and Montreal.
Another video clip, made several years ago, was of a horse being killed
by a bolt gun, which is commonly used to kill beef cattle. Human Society
CEO Wayne Pacelle said the video was made in the Beltex plant in Fort Worth, Texas, but Beltex officials have disputed that claim, saying they
believe it was shot elsewhere.
The $60-million- a-year horse slaughter industry in the United States
consists of Dutch-owned Beltex; Dallas Crown Inc., in Kaufman, Texas;
and Cavel International Inc. in DeKalb, Ill.
The three plants slaughtered more than 90,000 horses in 2005, largely
for distribution to Europe and Japan, where horse meat is often part of
the human diet. It's also sold to zoos.
The video taken in a municipal slaughterhouse in Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas, shows a white horse being stabbed repeatedly in the back
and neck before collapsing to the floor. In the video from Canada, a man
with a rifle shoots a horse standing in a stall.
Pacelle said the video was taken by his organization' s investigators to
underscore the urgency for passing the legislation, which would also
halt the transportation of horses for slaughter. Animal rights groups
say that thousands of American horses are exported monthly to Mexican
and Canadian slaughterhouses.
By Dave Montgomery
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON - Animal rights groups mounted a final effort Tuesday to push
through a ban on U.S. horse slaughterhouses in the closing days of
Congress, displaying graphic videos and wielding a letter of support
from more than a fourth of the Senate's 100 members.
The legislation, which would shut down three processing plants in Texas
and Illinois, passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 263-146
in mid-October after a high-profile campaign that included celebrities
such as country music star Willie Nelson and actress Bo Derek.
Animal rights groups and their supporters say the horses are kept and
transported in inhumane conditions as part of a "slaughter pipeline"
that reaches across the U.S. border and ends with brutal deaths.
Opponents of the bill argue that the U.S. plants are needed to prevent a
surplus of unwanted horses and that the horses are killed instantly and
humanely.
With the outgoing Republican-controll ed Congress scheduled to adjourn by
the weekend, supporters of the measure are frantically trying to push
the bill through the Senate, acknowledging that it could be squeezed out
by more pressing issues, including a giant spending measure and Robert
Gates' nomination to be defense secretary.
Twenty-seven senators, including the bill's sponsors, Sens. John Ensign,
R-Nev., and Mary Landrieu, D-La., called on the Senate leadership to
allow a vote on the bill and "end this slaughter once and for all."
Despite the last-minute push, the bill faces stiff opposition. Brent
Gattis, a senior policy adviser at the Washington law firm of Ollson
Frank & Weeda who represents the industry, said that as many as 11
senators have indicated that they'll take steps to block consideration
if Senate leaders bring it up.
The bill's signers included members from both parties. Among them: Sens.
Trent Lott, R-Miss., Ted Stevens, R-Alaska; Hillary Rodham Clinton,
D-N.Y.; Joseph Biden, D-Del.; John Kerry, D-Mass., and California's two
Democratic senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.
The Humane Society of the United States and the Society for Animal
Protective Legislation released video footage showing horses being put
to death in slaughterhouses in Juarez, Mexico, and Montreal.
Another video clip, made several years ago, was of a horse being killed
by a bolt gun, which is commonly used to kill beef cattle. Human Society
CEO Wayne Pacelle said the video was made in the Beltex plant in Fort Worth, Texas, but Beltex officials have disputed that claim, saying they
believe it was shot elsewhere.
The $60-million- a-year horse slaughter industry in the United States
consists of Dutch-owned Beltex; Dallas Crown Inc., in Kaufman, Texas;
and Cavel International Inc. in DeKalb, Ill.
The three plants slaughtered more than 90,000 horses in 2005, largely
for distribution to Europe and Japan, where horse meat is often part of
the human diet. It's also sold to zoos.
The video taken in a municipal slaughterhouse in Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas, shows a white horse being stabbed repeatedly in the back
and neck before collapsing to the floor. In the video from Canada, a man
with a rifle shoots a horse standing in a stall.
Pacelle said the video was taken by his organization' s investigators to
underscore the urgency for passing the legislation, which would also
halt the transportation of horses for slaughter. Animal rights groups
say that thousands of American horses are exported monthly to Mexican
and Canadian slaughterhouses.
