"Tonight, after years of legislation and litigation, America's three horse slaughterhouses can no longer kill horses for human consumption," states Chris Heyde, deputy legislative director for the Society for Animal Protective Legislation. "We call on Illinois-based Cavel International to work with the humane and rescue communities to find permanent safe homes for the hundreds of horses who were slated for slaughter, to give them a second chance at life."

The rule that was vacated by the court, was promulgated by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service to create a fee-for- service inspection process for horses slaughtered for human consumption. The rule circumvented a Congressionally approved amendment to the FY 2006 Agricultural Appropriations Act that cut federal funding for the required inspections. Because of continuing resolutions approved by Congress to fund the government, today's ruling is effective immediately.

There are three horse slaughterhouses in America, one in Illinois and two in Texas. Though the Texas plants were recently forced to stop slaughtering horses for human consumption when an appellate court upheld a Texas law making it illegal to sell, possess and transport horsemeat for sale for human consumption, the Illinois plant has been killing approximately 1,000 horses per week.

"The American public has overwhelmingly opposed the slaughter of America's horses for human consumption and now the courts have declared horse slaughter to be illegal," adds Heyde. "While horses will no longer be butchered in the U.S. they can be hauled under appalling conditions to a similarly brutal death in plants across the U.S. border. Congress must pass federal legislation to extend the protections to all horses and to send a clear message to those few who profit from this barbaric trade."

Currently pending in Congress are H.R. 503 and its Senate companion measure, S. 311, which would ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption and prohibit the transport of horses outside of the United States for slaughter.

The Society for Animal Protective Legislation, the Animal Welfare Institute's legislative arm, is the unsurpassed leader in obtaining laws to benefit animals in need, including the protection of domestic and wild horses. More information is available at http://www.saplonline.org/horses.htm

For More Information Contact: Chris Heyde 703-836-4300

3/6/07: Texas Ruling Against Horse Slaughter Confirmed by Federal Court of Appeals
http://www.saplonline.org/5circuitrehearingreject.htm

To identify your federal legislators and find contact info, try:
• Congress.org: http://www.Congress.org
• USA Senate: http://www.senate.gov
• USA House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov
• Congressional Switchboard: 202-224-3121

The Honorable Representative _____________________________
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Senators _________________________________
The U.S. Senate, U.S. Capitol Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Representative __________________________________ and

Senators _______________________________________________:

Please accept my gratitude if you are already a cosponsor of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503/S. 311). If not, I respectfully ask you to shield America's horses from slaughter with your endorsement of this critical legislation.

Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of the annual slaughter of some 100,000 horses for overseas consumption. I am among the majority of U.S. voters who want elected officials to grant horses immunity from butchers now. Please advocate passage of H.R. 503/S. 311 so this bill is finally signed into law.

In fact, there is little "industry" left to sustain. On January 19, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit pronounced horse slaughter illegal in Texas, home to two of only three foreign-owned equine plants. On March 28, 2007, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled horse slaughter in America in violation of federal law. She claimed the USDA failed to uphold the National Environmental Policy Act by neglecting to assess the environmental impact of its decision to permit horse slaughter.

Judge Kollar-Kotelly's edict essentially freezes America's last horse slaughterhouse, Cavel International in DeKalb, IL. A federal ban is imperative to halt the export of our horses to Mexico or Canada for slaughter.

Horse slaughter is profoundly inhumane. Discarded show horses, racehorses, Premarin industry foals, wild horses, carriage horses, and family companions are shipped from auction to slaughter inside double-deck livestock trucks built for smaller animals. Deprived of food, water or rest, most arrive weak, dehydrated and injured after treks that last up to 30 hours.

At the processing plant horses are herded into holding pens, where they subsist amid the inescapable stench of blood and death. On the killing floor, workers fire metal shunts into their brains. The captive bolt pistols (crafted for cows, sheep and pigs) are rarely forceful enough to stun these long-necked animals. Dangling by a shackled rear leg, some regain consciousness as their throats are slit and their bodies dismembered.

Please cosponsor the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. It is time to permanently ban the export and slaying of our horses for diners in Italy, France, Belgium, and Japan.

Thank you,