Another one..
Jun. 5th, 2005 03:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sitaangelDear friends,
This is it! Our day has come! This coming Wednesday or Thursday (June 8th or
9th), an amendment added to the '06 agricultural appropriations bill will be
VOTED on! The amendment (Sweeney/Spratt/Rahall/Whitfield) will prohibit
federal funds from being used to slaughter horses!
IF we pass this amendment, it will shut the plants down for the entire FY
2006! This will buy us valuable time to get HR 503 passed and will also give us
incredible momentum toward the complete ban on horse slaughter!! AND..BEST
of all, it will spare THOUSANDS of horses a horrible death in a slaughter
plant!
Now for the DOWN side....IF we fail in the effort to pass this amendment, it
is likely to greatly effect future efforts to permanently ban horse
slaughter. I do not want to scare anyone, but I just want everyone to realize how
vitally important it is that we put forth the most tremendous effort that we
have to date! We must contact everyone we know and make certain that they
everyone is both faxing and calling their congressmen Monday through Thurday of
next week!
If your friends and family cannot make the calls of faxes, please try to do
so for them, or recruit others to help make the calls and faxes!
If you would like to get a head start on faxing, please feel free to do so
throughout the weekend.
An e-alert is already prepared and I will be sending this to you shortly in
a seperate email.
Please forward the e-alert to everyone you know and ask them to do the same!!
If you have any connections to horsemen's groups, rescues, businesses
(equine or other) please ask them to write and fax letters to their member of
congress.
Important issues you might consider addressing in your letters to congress...
1) horse slaughter is NOT humane euthanasia.
2) horse slaughter plants and transporters of horses to slaughter, are the
single greatest perpetrators of cruelty equine's face today.
3) slaughter perpetuates abuse and neglect, ending slaughter will IMPROVE
the welfare of all horses, and will NOT increase abuse of neglect.
4) You do not want your tax dollars being squandered to support an industry
that you are opposed to!
FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION!! WE MUST PASS THIS AMENDMENT IN ORDER TO END HORSE
SLAUGHTER!!!!!!!!!!
PLEASE CROSSPOST THIS MESSAGE AND THE E-ALERT FAR AND WIDE!!!!!
Gail Vacca
Illinois Coordinator
National Horse Protection Coalition
Phone: 815-761-4937
Fax: 815-787-4957
_www.horse-protection.org_ (http://www.horse-protection.org)
1. Sick and old horses to slaughter
Question: Is it true that slaughter is only a last resort for infirm,
dangerous or no longer serviceable horses?
Answer: 92.3 percent of horses arriving at slaughter plants in this country
are in “good†condition, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s
Guidelines for Handling and Transporting Equines to Slaughter.
2. Neglect and abuse
Question: Will horse abuse and neglect cases rise significantly following a
ban on slaughter?
Answer: There has been no documented rise in abuse and neglect cases in
California since the state banned horse slaughter for human consumption in 1998.
There is no documented rise in Illinois following closure of the state’s
only horse slaughter plant in 2002.
3. Cost of caring for "unwanted horses."
Question: If there is a ban on horse slaughter, will horse rescue and
retirement groups have the resources to take care of unwanted horses? Should the
government have to pay for the care of horses voluntarily given up by their
owners?
Answer: Not every horse currently going to slaughter will need to be
absorbed into the rescue community – many will be sold to a new owner, others will
be kept longer and a licensed veterinarian will humanely euthanize some.
Opponents of this legislation admit passage of the bill will not necessarily
lead to an increase in the number of horses sent to rescue facilities, precisely
because humane euthanasia is so widely used. It is not the government’s
responsibility to provide for the care of horses voluntarily given up by their
owners, as these animals are private property. Hundreds of horse rescue
organizations operate around the country, and additional facilities are being
established (a list is available).
4. A safe and humane solution for sick, old and unwanted horses
Question: If slaughter is not an option, what will we do with sick, old and
"unwanted horses?"
Answer: Approximately 690,000 horses die annually in this country (10
percent of an estimated population of 6.9 million) and the vast majority are not
slaughtered, but euthanized and rendered or buried without any negative
environmental impact instead. Humane euthanasia and carcass disposal is highly
affordable and widely available. The average cost of having a horse humanely
euthanized and safely disposing of the animal’s carcass is approximately $225,
while the average monthly cost of keeping a horse is approximately $200.
This is it! Our day has come! This coming Wednesday or Thursday (June 8th or
9th), an amendment added to the '06 agricultural appropriations bill will be
VOTED on! The amendment (Sweeney/Spratt/Rahall/Whitfield) will prohibit
federal funds from being used to slaughter horses!
IF we pass this amendment, it will shut the plants down for the entire FY
2006! This will buy us valuable time to get HR 503 passed and will also give us
incredible momentum toward the complete ban on horse slaughter!! AND..BEST
of all, it will spare THOUSANDS of horses a horrible death in a slaughter
plant!
Now for the DOWN side....IF we fail in the effort to pass this amendment, it
is likely to greatly effect future efforts to permanently ban horse
slaughter. I do not want to scare anyone, but I just want everyone to realize how
vitally important it is that we put forth the most tremendous effort that we
have to date! We must contact everyone we know and make certain that they
everyone is both faxing and calling their congressmen Monday through Thurday of
next week!
If your friends and family cannot make the calls of faxes, please try to do
so for them, or recruit others to help make the calls and faxes!
If you would like to get a head start on faxing, please feel free to do so
throughout the weekend.
An e-alert is already prepared and I will be sending this to you shortly in
a seperate email.
Please forward the e-alert to everyone you know and ask them to do the same!!
If you have any connections to horsemen's groups, rescues, businesses
(equine or other) please ask them to write and fax letters to their member of
congress.
Important issues you might consider addressing in your letters to congress...
1) horse slaughter is NOT humane euthanasia.
2) horse slaughter plants and transporters of horses to slaughter, are the
single greatest perpetrators of cruelty equine's face today.
3) slaughter perpetuates abuse and neglect, ending slaughter will IMPROVE
the welfare of all horses, and will NOT increase abuse of neglect.
4) You do not want your tax dollars being squandered to support an industry
that you are opposed to!
FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION!! WE MUST PASS THIS AMENDMENT IN ORDER TO END HORSE
SLAUGHTER!!!!!!!!!!
PLEASE CROSSPOST THIS MESSAGE AND THE E-ALERT FAR AND WIDE!!!!!
Gail Vacca
Illinois Coordinator
National Horse Protection Coalition
Phone: 815-761-4937
Fax: 815-787-4957
_www.horse-protection.org_ (http://www.horse-protection.org)
1. Sick and old horses to slaughter
Question: Is it true that slaughter is only a last resort for infirm,
dangerous or no longer serviceable horses?
Answer: 92.3 percent of horses arriving at slaughter plants in this country
are in “good†condition, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s
Guidelines for Handling and Transporting Equines to Slaughter.
2. Neglect and abuse
Question: Will horse abuse and neglect cases rise significantly following a
ban on slaughter?
Answer: There has been no documented rise in abuse and neglect cases in
California since the state banned horse slaughter for human consumption in 1998.
There is no documented rise in Illinois following closure of the state’s
only horse slaughter plant in 2002.
3. Cost of caring for "unwanted horses."
Question: If there is a ban on horse slaughter, will horse rescue and
retirement groups have the resources to take care of unwanted horses? Should the
government have to pay for the care of horses voluntarily given up by their
owners?
Answer: Not every horse currently going to slaughter will need to be
absorbed into the rescue community – many will be sold to a new owner, others will
be kept longer and a licensed veterinarian will humanely euthanize some.
Opponents of this legislation admit passage of the bill will not necessarily
lead to an increase in the number of horses sent to rescue facilities, precisely
because humane euthanasia is so widely used. It is not the government’s
responsibility to provide for the care of horses voluntarily given up by their
owners, as these animals are private property. Hundreds of horse rescue
organizations operate around the country, and additional facilities are being
established (a list is available).
4. A safe and humane solution for sick, old and unwanted horses
Question: If slaughter is not an option, what will we do with sick, old and
"unwanted horses?"
Answer: Approximately 690,000 horses die annually in this country (10
percent of an estimated population of 6.9 million) and the vast majority are not
slaughtered, but euthanized and rendered or buried without any negative
environmental impact instead. Humane euthanasia and carcass disposal is highly
affordable and widely available. The average cost of having a horse humanely
euthanized and safely disposing of the animal’s carcass is approximately $225,
while the average monthly cost of keeping a horse is approximately $200.
