5/15/10: WIN! No Horse Slaughter Plants In Missouri, For Now

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SOURCE OF INFORMATION / BACKGROUND

Missouri Congressional session closes with horse slaughter rejected!
Missouri Rep. Jim Viebrock wanted to kill horses. So he proposed House Bill 1747 to sidestep a federal ban on U.S. horse slaughter. Kinship Circle issued a 3/21/10 letter campaign urging MO House Reps to reject legislation to legalize horse processing plants in Missouri. From there, it got weird.

Some MO Reps harassed Kinship Circle to the extent a police report was filed. And the House seemingly passed its bill as revenge against animal advocates. Then, Rep Viebrock covertly attached horse slaughter provisions to unrelated Senate Bill 795. He thought no one would notice?

But in the end YOUR VOICE, along with support from rational Missouri legislators, proved stronger than the pro-slaughter extremists. Against a backdrop of strong public protest from around the world, the Missouri Congressional session closed yesterday with language to legalize horse slaughter rejected. Thanks to all who wrote, faxed, emailed, called and mailed on behalf of horses. Brenda Shoss, Kinship Circle

Weird Odyssey: How Missouri Tried & Failed to Revive U.S. Horse Slaughter

5/15/10 - MISSOURI SESSIONS ENDS WITH HORSE SLAUGHTER A DEAD ISSUE: 2010 MO Legislature / PASSED - SB795 AGRICULTURE: Increases some regulations relating to agriculture, including rules concerning large carnivores, but does not create mechanism to allow horse slaughter plants in Missouri.

5/11/10 - S.B. 795 STUCK IN COMMITTEE: S.B. 795 is in conference committee because Missouri's Senate cannot agree on the House Committee Substitute that passed the House with amendments — including: pro-horse slaughter provisions.

5/7/10 - HORSE SLAUGHTER PROVISIONS STILL HIDDEN IN S.B. 795: Original horse kill bill 1747 — that was covertly attached to S.B. 795 (an unrelated bill) — is NOT REMOVED from S.B. 795, as formerly believed.

5/2/10 - SOME REPS RENEW HARASSMENT OF KINSHIP CIRCLE: MO House Reps debate the House Committee Substitute version of S.B. 795. Animal Law Coalition and R.A.G.E. ask their members to send comments opposing inclusion of horse slaughter language in S.B. 795. Although Kinship Circle itself has issued no alert on horse slaughter since 3/21/10, some Reps bounce hundreds of unread emails (from members of these other groups) to Kinship Circle's computer — from May 1 to the present!

4/30/10 - IT DOESN'T GET MUCH SLEAZIER THAN THIS: Chair of the Missouri Senate Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee, Sen. Dan Clemens, states "there will be no further legislative progress on H.B. 1747." But Rep James Viebrock has already attached provisions to legalize horse slaughter to an unrelated bill. S.B. 795, with horse slaughter attached, passes the House Agriculture Committee.

4/6/10: HARASSMENT OF KINSHIP CIRCLE MAKES FRONT-PAGE NEWS: St. Louis Post Dispatch — the daily and largest paper in Missouri — runs a front page story about Missouri House Representatives tampering with public information and harassing Kinship Circle State Legislators Target Activist. Post also runs an editorial against killing horses and hounding activists, Squirrelly about animals in the Frog Kingdom. An Associated Press version runs in Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, CBS News, Yahoo News, and many more papers nationwide.

In an attempt to silence our opposition to horse slaughter...
— Some Reps forward 2,000+ unread emails to Kinship Circle's server. Whereas our members send comments to many individual computers, Reps who "don't care about non-constituents" barrage Kinship Circle's single computer. One Rep forwards emails entirely unrelated to horse slaughter! They even bounce emails from supporters.

— Rep. Casey Guernsey, R-Bethany memorably tells us: "It's so fun to piss you wackos off. You're lucky I even acknowledge your existence. It's so much fun to taunt people like you — ha! Tell me, is it truly liberating to be so incredibly clueless?"

— In a call to Kinship Circle's line, from CALLER ID: Missouri State 573-522-0000, a male voice bleats some type of tribal war chant...nonsensical noise with the sound of men snickering in the background.

— In another call from CALLER ID: Missouri State 573-522-0000, a man sings "A Horse Is A Horse," from the movie Mr. Ed.

— In a 10:00pm call, a creepy male voice drones "Brenda, Brenda, Brenda...neigh...Brenda, Brenda...neigh..." in reference to Kinship Circle's president Brenda Shoss. This call frightens Ms. Shoss' 9-year-old son and leads her to file a police report.

— Other calls from unidentified Reps begin with a menacing "Hey Brenda..." In one call: "There aren't but three people here [the MO House] who care for you or your organization... Your group has guaranteed passage of this bill...[because of] frickin' emails from everyone in the world!"

MISSOURIANS: THANK STATE SENATORS AND REPS IN YOUR DISTRICT
LOOK UP YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS
• Express your gratitude that provisions to legalize horse slaughter in Missouri were rejected.
• Tell them that their stance on animal protection issues will effect your future voting decisions.

***AUTO LETTERS CAN BACKFIRE WHEN WRITING TO LEGISLATURES***
A personal constituent approach is vital to to passage or rejection of animal protection bills.

US Horse Slaughter Statistics

THE AUTOMATED LETTER BELOW IS CLOSED. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SEND IT. It is here as evidence of our original campaign, due to harassement by some Missouri House members.

• Slaughter of horses in U.S. could resume, in Missouri
• Show MO Legislators Why They Should Oppose H.B. 1747

EMAIL A LETTER (1st 2 buttons) - OR - FAX / MAIL A LETTER (2nd 2 buttons)

Personalized comments have more impact. Try to change some words in this letter.

Subject:

Salutation:

Eyes around the nation are focusing on Missouri — to see if it will revive horse slaughter on American soil. As you know, this is not a Missouri issue alone. No equine kill plants have legally operated in the U.S. since those in Texas and Illinois were shut down in 2007. The matter of killing American horses affects concerned citizens everywhere. Please reject Rep. Jim Viebrock's bill to sidestep federal rules that bar horse slaughter for human consumption. If passed, H.B. 1747 lets horse processors operate in Missouri. While supporters insist slaughter "saves" horses from neglect and starvation, their argument fails to recognize: — "Americans oppose horse slaughter by an overwhelming margin," says Glen Bolger, national pollster and founding partner of the nonpartisan Public Opinion Strategies (POS). In a 2007 poll, POS found that 71% want horses preserved as part of American cultural heritage. Nearly half are less likely to vote for a Congressperson who is against a horse slaughter ban. — Equine plants are known polluters that congest sewers and contaminate land and water. — Under Missouri Anti-Cruelty Statues Chapter 578, animal abandonment is a crime punishable by fines and jail time. Rather than advocate slaughter as an alternative to neglect, lawmakers ought to enforce criminal prosecution. — Slaughter is NOT humane euthanasia. Methods to stun and kill cows and pigs are excruciating when used on horses. Nonetheless, these excitable, long-necked animals are subjected to captive bolt pistols that often don't render them insensible. Some remain aware while killed. — Overpopulation stems from industries such as Premarin and Prempro (HRT drugs made from mare urine); carriage horses; riding stables, etc. that over-breed horses. Focus should shift to breeding oversight and responsible care. Moreover, there is no documented connection between closure of domestic plants and a spike in horse abuse cases. In contrast, slaughter supplies a "dumping ground" for irresponsible breeders and caretakers. H.B. 1747 wants to impose a U.S. market for horsemeat on a nation that doesn't want it. The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, H.R. 503/S.B. 727, currently before Congress, bans possession, shipment, transport, purchase, sale, delivery or receipt of any horse for the purpose of human ingestion. Missouri's proposed "rebirth" of a doomed industry is economically and ethically shortsighted. Horse slaughter is a no-win for horses and people. Please do not support H.B. 1747. Sincerely, >>>YOUR FULL NAME >>>ADRESS, CITY, STATE >>>COUNTRY

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SAMPLE LETTER + CONTACT INFORMATION

SAMPLE LETTER • SEND THIS LETTER

Missouri House of Representatives:

Please reject Rep. Jim Viebrock's bill to sidestep federal rules that bar horse slaughter for human consumption. If passed, H.B. 1747 lets horse processors operate in Missouri — even though no equine plants legally function in the U.S. right now. While supporters insist slaughter "saves" horses from neglect and starvation, their argument fails to recognize:

— "Americans oppose horse slaughter by an overwhelming margin," says Glen Bolger, national pollster and founding partner of the nonpartisan Public Opinion Strategies (POS). In a 2007 poll, POS found that 71% want horses preserved as part of American cultural heritage. Nearly half are less likely to vote for a Congressperson who is against a horse slaughter ban.

— Equine plants are known polluters that congest sewers and contaminate land and water.

— Under Missouri Anti-Cruelty Statues Chapter 578, animal abandonment is a crime punishable by fines and jail time. Rather than advocate slaughter as an alternative to neglect, lawmakers ought to enforce criminal prosecution.

— Slaughter is NOT humane euthanasia. Methods to stun and kill cows and pigs are excruciating when used on horses. Nonetheless, these excitable, long-necked animals are subjected to captive bolt pistols that often don't render them insensible. Some remain aware while killed.

— Overpopulation stems from industries such as Premarin and Prempro (HRT drugs made from mare urine); carriage horses; riding stables, etc. that over-breed horses. Focus should shift to breeding oversight and responsible care. Moreover, there is no documented connection between closure of domestic plants and a spike in horse abuse cases. In contrast, slaughter supplies a "dumping ground" for irresponsible breeders and caretakers.

H.B. 1747 wants to impose a U.S. market for horsemeat on a nation that doesn't want it. The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, H.R. 503/S.B. 727, currently before Congress, bans possession, shipment, transport, purchase, sale, delivery or receipt of any horse for the purpose of human ingestion. In 2006 Congress cut off funding for mandatory ante-mortem inspection of horses. This de-funding was reinstated in the 2010 Appropriations Act. It is illegal to kill uninspected horses under the Federal Meat Inspection Act.

In 2007 the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals proclaimed horse slaughter illegal in Texas, home to two foreign-owned equine plants. Later that year, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly froze America's last kill plant in DeKalb, Illinois for its failure to assess environmental impacts of horse slaughter, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act.

Missouri's proposed "rebirth" of a doomed industry is economically and ethically shortsighted. Horse slaughter is a no-win for horses and people. Please do not support H.B. 1747.

Sincerely,

>>>YOUR FULL NAME
>>>ADRESS, CITY, STATE
>>>COUNTRY

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