Amend and Support
The 2023 Safe Act as currently drafted just gets half the job done. Our horses deserve to be protected from every form of slaughter.
...So let's get it right.
Amend The SAFE Act With One Word
To Entirely End Horse Slaughter
Protect Horses From Being Slaughtered For Food Of Any Kind - Human & Animal
The SAFE Act (H.R. 3475/S.2037) was introduced as an amendment to the Farm Bill of 2023 (expected to pass in the next few months). This act is being sold to Americans as a bill that:
"...bans horse slaughter in the United States and prohibits the exportation of horses for slaughter."
It does not.
It prohibits only slaughter for "human" consumption.
One simple word must be added or deleted
All consumption must be prohibited so that U.S. horses cannot be:
Slaughtered in the U.S
Transported to Mexico, Canada or anywhere else for animal food
Shipped for human consumption under the guise of animal food
Custom-exempt slaughtered within a state for animal food
Red Herrings Regarding Those Requesting to Amend the SAFE Act
(Click "down arrow" to to expand)
1. As currently drafted, H.R. 3475 has received no specific opposition to adding a prohibition against "animal consumption" or to the bill in general.
Why then isn’t “animal consumption” being added? Equine industry leaders* have submitted an endorsement statement calling for the:
“…ban of horse slaughter once and for all.”
“…against companion animal slaughter”
“…98% support permanently banning equine slaughter in the U.S. for any purpose (including food, dog food, skin products, etc.)"
“…long overdue measure to help equines.”
* https://bit.ly/HR3475SupportLtr
Accordingly, the horse industry joins us in calling for full protection against all horse slaughter both human and animal! Who could be against it? And why?
2. Advocates for amending the bill have been positioned as opposing the passage of the SAFE Act and been referred to as the opposition.
Yet advocates for amending have consistently gone on record using “amend and support” as their position and intent.
3. Non-legislative sponsors defend not addressing “animal food” by consistently stating that no “large-scale” slaughter will resume in the U.S.
Advocates for amending have never stated that licensed USDA Commercial horse slaughter facilities of the 90’s would be reinstated. However, by only prohibiting live export, it leaves every other possible conduit as an unaddressed real and present danger. Unaddressed means legal until legally prohibited. This would leave state custom exempt slaughter plants (not requiring federal inspections) viable for domestic horse slaughter for the purposes, including but not limited to, disposal/eradication from Tribal lands and zoo/sanctuary food.
4. Non-legislative sponsors state that horses will not be slaughtered by Native Tribes but add, “except for religious exceptions.” Advocates for amending have never to date publicly listed Native Tribes religious exceptions which is broader than an exemption (basically “above the law”) for any “Indian” involved in “an activity” for “religious ceremonies” but would also not rule out an old obscure religious ritual involving killing horses surfacing.
o Native American organizations such as the NCAI and NTHC have written multiple consensus resolutions and recent position letters stating their intent/desire to slaughter through custom plants the 100,000 horses on reservations and public lands today as well as opposition to “any and all anti-horse slaughter legislation.”
o Native Tribes have just been given $125 million+ through the federal Cares Act to build custom slaughter plants on reservations to encourage revitalizing slaughter of indigenous animals for food. There is no guarantee that "horse" won’t/can't be added to the list of species that are currently being considered for custom slaughter under indigenous foods or rituals.
o Native Tribes are sovereign which means they only answer to federal and tribal law. If prohibitions are not put in H.R. 3475, Native Tribes are exempt from any state, local or municipal laws. Therefore, if slaughter prohibition is not included for animal food in federal law, custom exempt horse slaughter is legal unless prohibited by the state.
5. Non-legislative sponsors state that the horses can’t be slaughtered because meat would have to be U.S.D.A. inspected.
FACT: There is no federal meat inspection required for “custom exempt slaughter.”
6. Non-legislative sponsors state there is no market for horse meat.
FACT: The majority of 2,500 accredited and unaccredited zoos feed horse meat now at zoos/sanctuaries/refuges by importing horse meat shipped from Canada.
FACT: The same Safe Act non-legislative sponsors introduced and supported the language in the failed 2023 Colorado Horse Slaughter Bill earlier this year trading off export for human consumption for exempting custom slaughter of horses domestically for zoo/sanctuary food. Has the same deal/understanding/trade-off/intentional omission been extended to the federal bill? Not if “animal consumption” is included! Shockingly some animal activists are not against all horse slaughter and are very unclear on the concept that the overriding issue is the horse is not a food animal and should not be slaughtered, period. As if it makes any difference to the horse if slaughtered for human or animal food? Slaughter is slaughter!
7. Non-legislative sponsors justify not including “animal consumption” stating that none of the past Safe Act bills included this language.
FACT: New York just recently passed precedent legislation prohibiting the slaughter of horses for any reason human or animal. More importantly H.R. 3475 will be the long-anticipated federal legislation that will stand as precedent protection for American horses for the ages. And, after 23 years in congress, the bill will not be fixed or changed later. The time is now. Now or never. The federal law must be more stringent and give horses full protection and supersede any compromising state efforts now or in the future.
8. Non-legislative sponsors state that “at this moment” there is no real threat of domestic custom horse slaughter being reinstated after 16 years of cessation.
Advocates for amending argue that there are multiple very real threats and viable conduits waiting in the wings now. Human consumption has been the largest economic incentive, and only after it is removed will other conduits take its place if “animal” food is not also prohibited in the federal bill.
9. Non-legislative sponsors say dealers who have long skirted the law will not just find a way to continue to take horses across borders under the guise of “animal food.” They state this will not happen as there is no market.
Advocates for amending flag the fact that there is enough of a market that hundreds of millions of dollars are currently being pumped into Mexican slaughter plants for pet/animal food to expand the markets.
10. Non-legislative sponsors state that they called Purina in Mexico and Purina stated they do not use horse meat.
Advocates for amending never mentioned Purina and acknowledge that U.S.-owned pet food manufacturers including Purina have not used horse meat in pet food since the 70’s. However, possibly other, non-U.S. owned distributors do? Many slaughter plants slaughter for human consumption and scraps go to their pet food processing plants.
11. Non-legislative sponsors have themselves stated they are not opposed to adding “animal consumption” and are “pursuing it.” And yet for some unexplained reason, “animal consumption” was removed from an original draft so advocates for amending are understandably skeptical about the sincerity of these comments. However, now is the time to submit amendments to the Agriculture Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Subcommittee for consideration prior to being introduced in the markup process meeting to be scheduled in the next few weeks after congress reconvenes September 5th.
Advocates for amending are calling for full protection against horse slaughter for both human and animal food and to legislate protections preemptively against all possible threats from any possible legal domestic slaughter conduits including but not limited to Native Tribes, zoos/sanctuaries/refuges or continuing legal export across borders for slaughter for pet/animal food. If these conduits are left “unaddressed in the federal prohibitions,” they are legal.
In conclusion, the obvious irony is that the bill as currently drafted would ban horse slaughter for export to other countries but WOULDN'T BAN HORSE SLAUGHTER IN THE U.S.?
However, with the inclusion of one word, H.R. 3475 could be the long-awaited piece of federal legislation to protect our beloved noble horses from slaughter by finally lifting the American equine over that ambiguous fence securing the horse’s rightful status as a “favored,” non-food, pleasure and sporting animal in our culture and country.
America’s horses should not be compromised for zoo food or for a 2% nor 14% lobby when 83% to 98% of likely American voters have respectfully been asking congress to act on their behalf for the last 23 years. America is still a majority rule...still a democracy…and “The People" are all in for the HORSES!
Passionate arguments are being made stating there are no animal markets for horse meat.
So therefore, if we want to fully protect equines, there should be no problem with adding language prohibiting animal consumption in the bill.
WHO IS BLOCKING THIS? AND WHY?
It Can Be Done. Follow The Example Of America's Strongest Anti -Slaughter Bill
https://bit.ly/NYbansAllSlaughter
New York just made history by passing the most effective horse slaughter ban in the nation. After more than 30 years of fighting to end this unspeakable practice, to have this poor excuse for a federal horse slaughter ban introduced is a complete betrayal of the animals it is supposed to protect.
WE MUST ALERT CONGRESS
Some of the House and Senate sponsors supporting this bill are not aware of the great harm to horses that may result if the SAFE Act of 2023 is passed as currently drafted. One of the most important and necessary elements that would protect every horse in America from being slaughtered for food of any kind is missing from the amendment. The path is wide open for reinstating domestic horse slaughter in the U.S. through custom slaughterhouses, including Native American reservations and custom-exempt slaughter for zoos.
Review the documentation below that will explain these arguments:
2023: USDA Announces Funding To Expand Meat Processing Options For Tribal Communities https://bit.ly/USDA125M
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the availability of up to $125 million that will create more options for meat by investing in independent, local meat projects to enhance the resiliency of the food supply chain and to expand processing capacity for small and midsized meat processors.
2022 Letter from the National Tribal Horse Coalition (excerpt regarding the previous Safe Act): https://bit.ly/NTHCLetter
"Consistent with the federal government's obligation ot protect the resources of federally recognized Indian Tribes, the NTHC urges you to stand with us in opposition to the SAFE Act. The export of feral horses is a critical tool for responding to the feral horse populations on our respective Nations. Any attempts to make this practice illegal or impracticable through regulation will result in severe impacts to trust resources and therefore should not move forward. - George Meninick, Chairman National Tribal Horse Coalition"
National Congress of American Indians: https://bit.ly/46eXsTD
"WHEREAS, the tribes of NCAI have previously adopted NCAI resolution # NFG-09-017 in June 2009, “Opposition to Any/All Horse Slaughter Acts, Also Supporting a Tribal Amendment Allowing Tribes of Establish Horse Slaughter Facilities within Their Jurisdiction..." (The Safe Act version referenced here is a prior version)
‘A part of our culture’: Tribal members want ‘better management’ of wild, feral horses on Wind River Reservation https://bit.ly/WindRiverReservation
"About 2,000 feral horses were removed from the Wind River Reservation earlier this year in an ongoing collaboration between the state and local Tribal officials, a legislative committee heard last month. '(We) really appreciate the state’s funding part of that,' Eastern Shoshone Tribe Chairman John St. Clair said during a July meeting of the Wyoming Legislature’s Select Committee on Tribal Relations in Fort Washakie. 'We feel like we can go forward and hopefully reduce those numbers to a point where we can manage them in the future.' "
Take Action
Download Fact Sheet
Send and share the Fact Sheet far and wide! Whether any of your lawmakers serve in the House and/or Senate Agriculture Committees or not, please get it out to your family, friends, and members of your local press. Some of the people you know may be represented by members of those committees and can contact them. The press should be urged to cover this issue as well.
Call House Committee Members
Find the members of the House Agriculture Committee here. If any of the members represent your district, please contact your representative by clicking on his or her image and calling their Washington, D.C. office or a district office. Ask your rep to please amend H.R. 3475 – The SAFE Act to prohibit the slaughter of horses for animal consumption as well as for human consumption. Please refer to the Fact Sheet for other talking points.
Call Senate Committee Members
Find the members of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee here. If any of the Senators represent your state, please contact them by clicking on his or her image and calling their Washington, D.C. office or a district office. Ask your Senator to please amend S.2037 – The SAFE Act to prohibit the slaughter of horses for animal consumption, as well as for human consumption. Please refer to the Fact Sheet for other talking points.
Don't take our word for it, this is what the non-legislative sponsors of the SAFE Act tried to pass in Colorado earlier this year. Thankfully it failed!
Failed 2023 Colorado Equine Slaughter Bill SB23-038
Safe Harbor Section
Safe harbor. IT IS NOT UNLAWFUL EQUINE SLAUGHTER FOR A PERSON TO:
(a) SLAUGHTER AN EQUINE FOR USE BY A FACILITY TO FEED PREDATORS HOUSED AT THE FACILITY;
(b) POSSESS, IMPORT INTO THE STATE, EXPORT FROM THE STATE, BUY, SELL, GIVE AWAY, OR ACCEPT AN EQUINE IN OR THROUGH A SECONDARY MARKET FOR EQUINE PRODUCTS IF THE EQUINE IS SLAUGHTERED FOR USE BY A FACILITY TO FEED PREDATORS HOUSED AT THE FACILITY; OR
(c) POSSESS, IMPORT INTO THE STATE, EXPORT FROM THE STATE, BUY, SELL, GIVE AWAY, OR ACCEPT EQUINE MEAT IN OR THROUGH A SECONDARY MARKET FOR EQUINE PRODUCTS IF THE EQUINE WAS SLAUGHTERED FOR USE BY A FACILITY TO FEED PREDATORS HOUSED AT THE FACILITY.
Click here to read the bill in its entirety: https://bit.ly/FailedColoradoBill
Other Resources
ZOOS / SANCTUARIES / LOCAL DEALERS / IRRESPONSIBLE HORSE OWNERS
Use of Horse Meat by AZA Accredited Zoos 2015
https://nagonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/NAG.Horsemeat.13Aug2015.pdf
HSUS Top Zoos Can Together Be A Force For Good 2017
https://blog.humanesociety.org/2017/09/hsus-top-zoos-force-for-good.html
Many Major Zoos Feed Animals Horse Meat (Video) Article 2014
https://www.habitatforhorses.org/many-major-zoos-feed-animals-horse-meat/
The Federal Meat Inspection Act FMIA (21 U.S.C. 464(c)(1)(B)
Exempt from Federal Inspection for custom slaughter
SLAUGHTER OF "THE PEOPLE'S" WILD & FERAL HORSES OFF OF PUBLIC LANDS / RESERVATIONS FOR SLAUGHTER
Podcast: Carol Walker interviews Susan Wagner on "Fixing the SAFE Act"
Susan Wagner interviews world-renowned natural horsemanship clinician and trainer Anna Twinney about the SAFE Act.
Organizations And Individuals Calling For The SAFE Act To Be Amended
(In alphabetical order)
Ayla's Equine Revival, VT
https://www.facebook.com/AylasEquineRevival
Michael Bradbury, District Attorney Ventura County, CA Ret.
https://bit.ly/MichaelBradbury
CANA Foundation, NY
https://www.canafoundation.org/
Priscilla Clark, Founder of Tranquility Farm, CA
https://www.tranquilityfarmtbs.org/
Debbie Coffey, Public Lands Researcher, CA
Columbia County Veterans Services Agency, NY
https://veterans.columbiacountyny.com/
Dorset Equine Rescue, VT
https://dorsetequinerescue.org/
Cathleen Doyle, 1998 CA Initiative “Save the Horses Prop. 6”
Equine Advocates, NY
Equine Voices, AZ
Friends of Animals, CT
Gerda’s Equine Rescue, VT
https://www.gerdasequinerescue.org/
Humane Farming Association, CA
Sue McDonough, Retired State Police Officer, Former President and
Current Legislative Committee Member of NYSHA, Humane Law Instructor for NYS Law Enforcement
New York State Humane Association
Oregon Wild Horse Coalition
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064379095845
Peaceful Acres Horses, NY
https://www.peacefulacreshorses.com/
Bonnie Stoehn, Founder of Red Wings U.S., CA
https://www.thinkinghorsemanship.com/About.php
Gini Richardson, FMR V.P. Legislation, California State Horsemen’s Association
Anna Twinney, World Renowned Natural Horsemanship Clinician and Trainer
Sara Vanecek, Natural Horsemanship Trainer
https://www.facebook.com/p/Sara-Vanecek-100004799237528/
Carol Walker, Acclaimed Wild Horse Photographer, Author, Podcast Host
and Wild Horse Advocate
https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/about