New Anti-Slaughter Legislation Introduced in House

A new bill designed to stop the export of horses for slaughter in Mexico and Canada has been introduced in the House of Representatives by John Conyers (D-Mich) and Dan Burton (R-Ind). The legislation, HR 503, appropriately named the Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, is essentially the same as HR 6598, the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008, which never received a full House vote.

This bill prohibits the transport, sale, delivery, or export of horses for slaughter for human consumption. It further criminalizes the purchase, sale, delivery, or export of horsemeat intended for human consumption. The object of the bill is clearly to abolish the existence of all facets of the horse slaughter industry once and for all.

Violators would face fines and/or one year imprisonment for a first offense, involving five or fewer horses. Repeat offenders as well as those who break the law with five or more horses face longer jail terms.

As might be expected, opponents of the bill worry that the demise of the horse slaughter industry would lead to an increase in abandoned horses. Most of these fears are ungrounded. This bill would eliminate inhumane treatment of horses being transported to an inhumane death.

According to Nancy Perry, vice president of Government Affairs for the Humane Society of the United States, "HR 6598 underwent so much scrutiny, we feel this bill will reach the full House quickly. It's a new Congress, so the bill has to go through the process from the beginning with a new name."

You can, of course, alert your local representative(s) about your support for this legislation.