Purpose: This bill would restore the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and burros. H.R. 297 will restore 30 years of protections wrongly removed by the omnibus spending bill passed during the last Congress. H.R. 297 would prevent the Bureau of Land Management from selling wild horses at auction for slaughter to the highest bidder.
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Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources, Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health.
Action: SUPPORT. Please contact your Representative and urge him/her to support H.R. 297. Tell your Representative that wild horses have shaped American history and deserve fundamental protection from slaughter.
Talking Points for your letter:
- H.R. 297 will restore 30 years of protections for wild free-roaming horses and burros which were removed by the 2005 Omnibus Spending Bill. H.R. 297 would prevent the Bureau of Land Management from selling wild horses at auction for slaughter to the highest bidder. The bill also would restore the designation, which is applied at the time of sale, of wild horses and burros as protected from commercial sale and slaughter.
- For the past 30 years, it has been illegal to sell or transfer wild horses and burros for commercial slaughter. Most Americans would be horrified to learn that these animals now can be slaughtered so their meat can be offered in restaurants overseas. Some of the horses slaughtered in foreign-owned plants in the United States have been hauled more than one thousand miles over several days, contrary to acceptable non-slaughter standards for water, food, and rest. Horses sent to slaughter often are shipped on crowded double-deck trailers designed for shorter-necked species such as pigs, cattle and sheep. As a result, horses transported in this manner are forced to travel in a bent position, which can result in suffering and injury.
- At the slaughterhouse, horses can endure repeated blows to the head with stunning equipment that does not render the animals unconscious. Some horses proceed while they are still conscious through the remaining stages of slaughter.
- Commercial slaughter is not appropriate for the wild horses and burros that roam our public lands. These wild creatures should be protected as a symbol of the freedom and spirit that pervades our country.