Amado, the Mustang being trained by Summer Brennan at  Little Brook Farm in Old Chatham, NY.

Amado is one of the lucky Mustangs who was not shipped to Mexico or Canada for a brutal and inhumane slaughter. 

 There is a new urgency to the horse slaughter issue.  Please read this and make the calls to your representative.  And please share this with friends and through your social media.  Thank you!

Dear Humanitarian,

The House Appropriations Committee is poised to decide whether or not to block and unnecessary expansion of the federal government, save taxpayer dollars and – or particular interest to humanitarians – protect horses from being cruelly slaughtered for human consumption.  As soon as next week, the House Appropriations Committee may consider the Fy13 Agriculture Appropriations bill.  Last year the Committee approved an amendment sponsored by Rep. Jim Moran (D -VA) that prevented tax dollars from being used to fund inspections of horse slaughter facilities.  This bipartisan language had been included in every Agriculture Appropriations bill since 2005, until three legislators quietly removed it behind closed doors late last year.  Without this important provision, foreign-owed companies will be able to re-establish horse slaughter in the United States at the expense of taxpayers, food safety and the welfare of horses.  In fact, representatives of such companies are already making rounds in the Midwest looking for a plant location.

At a time when Congress is dramatically cutting back federal spending and eliminating federal programs, it is disappointing that some in Congress want to revive an unpopular taxpayer-subsidized program that existed solely to support foreign-owned slaughter facilities that inflict tremendous suffering on American horses.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
The full House Appropriations Committee will vote on the FY13 Agriculture Appropriations bill soon. An amendment will be offered by Rep. Moran to restore language prohibiting the USDA from spending your tax dollars to inspect horse slaughter facilities. This language de-funding USDA inspections of horse slaughter facilities is vital to protecting American horses.  The majority of the Committee supported this amendment last year. If your legislator is on the House Appropriations Committee (see list below), it is critical that you email or call TODAY and urge them to strongly SUPPORT the Moran amendment to de-fund horse slaughter inspections.
You can contact the main Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to the office of your legislator, or use AWI’s Compassion Index to quickly send an email, locate the direct office number, and view your legislator’s voting record on the issue. The majority of legislators have supported previous efforts to end horse slaughter. Your Representative has been among the ban’s supporters, so be sure to mention that when you call and urge continued strong opposition to any effort to restore horse slaughter.
For more information on horse slaughter and other important issues, please visit Slaughter | Animal Welfare Institute.  Please share this eAlert and ask friends, family, and coworkers to do the same. Be sure to post it on Facebook and share it on Twitter.  As always, thank you for your continued and critical support on this important issue.

Sincerely,
Chris Heyde
Deputy Director
Government and Legal Affairs

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Pam White posted a beautiful blog yesterday.  It has inspired me to look at the horse slaughter issue through the lens of the words of Chief Seattle.

This is a video of Joseph Campbell reading from Chief Seattle’s letter of 1854.  To me, this is sacred text.  And, it is no mistake that the horse is featured so clearly in the mythologizing of our land.

The ASPCA opposes horse slaughter.  PETA has adopted an odd position that decries slaughter of any kind, but approves the slaughter of horses in the U.S. as a way of keeping horses from being shipped to Canada or Mexico for their grotesque deaths.  I don’t think you can have it both ways.   Watch this video only if you have a strong stomach. 

Slaughter is never, never humane.  Euthanasia is humane.  If Congress is actually concerned about the welfare of our horses, they should make a provision for humane euthanasia by a veterinarian.  But in fact, this is another issue driven by greed and other countries’  appetites for horse meat.  And greed is never compassionate; it is crude and expeditious.

As I said yesterday, in the burgeoning storm about horses and slaughter, there is this:  horses possess an extraordinary  sensitivity.  They are defenseless.  They are companion animals, like dogs and cats.

I am weighing in on this because I spend time every day with horses.  This is not an abstract issue for me.  I write every day about how horses can help us to become better humans:  more aware, more embodied, more conscious.  It is their gift as prey animals who have played and continue to play a major role in our civilization as workers (in war, in the fields, on the streets), entertainers (the racing industry)  and partners in sport, work and life.

The pro-slaughter lobby says that the horse issue has been hijacked by emotional arguments on the part of opponents of slaughter.  And what, I ask, is wrong with emotion, with feeling?  (Do I smell an old sexist argument here?)

Here is my hope:  That millions and millions of people will see the film War Horse, and get, viscerally, something heart-opening about the horse.  I am doing what  Abraham suggests:  pivoting from something I abhor  (horse slaughter and its inevitable cruelty) to point myself toward what I want:  a shift in public consciousness and policy.

More reading:  http://www.manesandtailsorganization.org/vicki_tobin.html

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