Friday, June 10, 2011

Support our state and federal bills banning horse slaughter!

The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011 has been referred to the US Senate's Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation:
S.1176, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011.

Call
 Senator Kerry to ask him to cosponsor this most important legislation. 

Call Senator Scott Brown and thank him for being an initial cosponsor of this worthy legislation. Do it for the horses!

Call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-2131 and ask for their offices by name.

 
And show your support for our Massachusetts state bill banning horse slaughter:
MA S.655. Let your Mass Rep and Senator know you want a YES vote on that!
Find yours:
http://www.malegislature.gov/People/FindMyLegislator

Tell Congress to get out of the horse meat business!

Call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-2131 or to http://www.house.gov/representatives/ to find the direct phone numbers of your own US representative.
Tell your U.S. representative:  Support  language defunding inspections of horses to be slaughtered for human consumption and vote against any amendments to remove Rep. Moran's amendment to the 2012 Agriculture Appropriations bill.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

What Massachusetts SB655 would do for horses . . .


Massachusetts Senate Bill S655, as introduced by Sen. Stephen Brewer, would:
- make it illegal for anyone to slaughter or cause or procure the slaughter of an equine for human consumption;
-  make it illegal for anyone to sell, offer to sell or barter, give away, purchase, possess, transport, deliver, or receive any equine with the intent of slaughtering or otherwise causing or procuring the death of an equine for human consumption;
- make it illegal for anyone to import into or export from this state, live equines where such person knew or should have known that such equine is intended for slaughter for human consumption; 
- require the state Secretary of Agriculture to maintain records of ownership and a statement signed by the owner under penalty of perjury of the destination of any equine that is  exported from the Commonwealth;
-  provide that these records of ownership and statement of destination would be available upon request to the Dept. of Health or any state or local law enforcement or animal control agency; 
- make it illegal for anyone to possess, ship, transport, purchase, sell, deliver, or receive, any equine, with the intent that it is to be exported from the Commonwealth, without evidence of ownership;
- make it illegal to acquire, possess or deliver a false statement of such ownership or statement of the destination of an equine which is to be exported or which has been exported from the Commonwealth;
- direct the Secretary of Agriculture to make such regulations that are necessary to implement and enforce the provisions of the law, including a scheme of civil penalties;
- impose criminal penalties including fines and jail time and courts would have the discretion to require a mental health evaluation and treatment and prohibit violators from keeping or residing with other animals; 
- make it illegal for anyone to sell,  barter, offer to sell or barter, give away, purchase, possess, transport, deliver, or  receive  horseflesh for human consumption and for which violations fines could be imposed;

Contact your state senator and rep today, and ask them to VOTE YES for S655!
Find yours at:
http://www.malegislature.gov/People/FindMyLegislator

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

MA State Senate enters bill banning horse slaughter: S.655

Massachusetts State Senator Stephen Brewer's bill banning horse slaughter for human consumption and related bulk transport is now entered as MA Senate Bill 655.

Please contact your MA State Senator and State Representative today!
1. Find your state legislators at http://www.malegislature.gov/People/FindMyLegislator
2. Email or call and ask them to support and VOTE YES for this humane bill.

See: http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/BillText/10903?generalCourtId=1

Friday, February 25, 2011

Massachusetts State Senate bill seeks to end horse slaughter

Massachusetts State Senator Stephen Brewer of Barre, MA has introduced a bill in the Massachussetts Senate in Boston. This humane bill will ban horse slaughter for human consumption in the state, as well as its horrific and deadly bulk transportation.
State residents, equine rescues, animal lovers, and all who are concerned with the humane treatment of horses are called upon to actively support this forward-thinking and compassionate legislation.

This bill was drafted by Equine Welfare Alliance and Animal Law Coalition and is fully supported by the Massachusetts chapter of Americans Against Horse Slaughter, and Senator Brewer’s bold support is highly commendable and much-appreciated.

State residents are urged to contact their Representatives and Senators on Beacon Hill and request of them that they support this bill both in committee hearings and when a floor vote occurs. Find your Massachusetts State Senator and Representative at:
http://www.malegislature.gov/People/FindMyLegislator

The Massachusetts Senate bill is tentatively numbered SD 228.

Animal Law Coalition’s website has further info. Please note that the bill’s cosponsor deadline has passed. For more info and to see a copy of the bill’s language, go to:
http://www.animallawcoalition.com/horse-slaughter/article/1519
Scroll down to “attachment” to see the bill language.
Please actively support this humane bill. You can make a difference by forwarding this info to your friends and family in Massachusetts. If we are silent here, that silence only allows horses to continue to suffer thru deadly bulk transport and the ultimate betrayal of horse slaughter for human consumption.
Contact me and I’ll keep you informed so that you can get involved when that effort is needed. Thanks for helping horses. They thank you, too.

Please support all of our equine rescues in Massachusetts. Here’s a list, please make sure that you know the rescue and the horses that you’re supporting:
http://horse.rescueshelter.com/Massachusetts
Your active support makes a difference in the life of a horse!

Supporters are urged to check this site for updates, but to really stay current, send me an email to stay updated on the effort for the bills: MA4Horses@gmail.com

Thanks for making a difference in a horse's life, and for legislating against inhumane actions!

SLAUGHTER GATE CONTINUED...

SLAUGHTERGATE!! CONTINUED...MESSAGE FROM JOHN HOLLAND, horse welfare advocate extraordinaire:

TV Station KHOU has done a powerful piece on the USDA cruelty documents that Julie Caramante and Animal's Angels received through her FOIA. It features Steve Long and Julie and it is both powerful and graphic.
http://www.khou.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=315146

Here is a text version off of Texas Cable Newshttp://www.txcn.com/sharedcontent/dws/txcn/houston/stories/khou081219_jj_horse-slaughter-transportation.7b642747.html

Thousands of US horses slaughtered in Mexico for food10:56 PM CST on Friday, December 19, 2008
By Brad Woodard / 11 News
Steve Long is a noted author as well as editor of Texas Horse Talk magazine.You can say he knows horses. “They are the essence of beauty, everything about them, the way they move, the way they talk to each other, their personalities, they’re just magnificent,” he said. He says that horses are not only deeply woven into the fabric of Texas History, but they are also great icons of the American West. Still, despite that honor, records show that nearly 50,000 U.S. horses have been transported to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico for slaughter and ultimately destined for the dinner tables in Europe and Japan.
“It’s an obscenity. It’s a horror. It’s something that makes me want to throw up,” said Long.

Records show that nearly 50,000 U.S. horses have been transported to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico for slaughter and ultimately destined for the dinner tables in Europe and Japan. Believe it or not, Long isn’t talking about the slaughtering practices in Mexico, although he finds them disturbing. Long is talking about the horse slaughter industry, that until recently, thrived here in Texas and the United States.“This is the biggest animal rights scandal since the Michael Vick case. This is slaughtergate,” said Long. In fact, records show that there are two Belgian owned horse slaughtering facilities in the state. He says one of the facilities, Dallas Crown, is in Kaufman, Texas and that the other facility, Beltex, is located in Fort Worth. In 2006, 11 News reported that employees at both facilities used captive bolt guns and air guns on the horses instead of knives. That technique involves driving a steel bolt into a the brain of a horse.

Both Texas facilities were forced to close 2007. Officials say that the closure came after a federal appeals court upheld a 1949 state law banning horse slaughter for human consumption.
Despite that action the slaughter horse business continues. Julie Caramante is an animal cruelty investigator for the organization called Animal’s Angels and she often works undercover. She said that it took her three years to obtain photos that document violations of the transportation of horses taken to Beltex between January and November of 2005.“I saw horses that were dead in trailers, with their legs ripped off, with their faces smashed in, eyeballs dangling, and these horses, some of them were still alive. They were just standing there,” said Caramante. Many of the injuries reportedly occurred when the horses were transported on double-decker trailers designed to haul cattle. The U.S. banned that type of action last year, but there’s a loophole, said Caramante. She says that the double-deckers can still be used to haul horses thousands of miles to feedlots, like the one in Morton, Texas. It’s owned by the Belgian company, Beltex.“They feed them and get them fattened up. The ones that live go to El Paso and then off to the plant in Mexico,” said Caramante.

While it’s currently illegal to slaughter horses for human consumption in Texas, 11 News has found that at least two states are considering measures that would make it legal.Those who support horse slaughter say they’d like to see it resume here in the U.S. because of laws that protect horses from cruelty. They say it is a well regulated industry that provided humane euthanasia.“Such things are laughable. And it would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic. U.S. humane laws have done nothing for the horse,” said Long.