Those hungry for horsemeat won't get their wish this week
On Thursday the House of Representatives passed H.R. 503, the bill that bans horse slaughter in the United State. The bill passed by a vote of 263 to 146, despite amendments submitted by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte to weaken the measure.
The issue was simple: about 90,000 horses are sent each year to three plants in this country (two in Texas and one in Illinois, all foreign owned), where they're slaughtered and the meat is shipped to restaurants in Europe and Asia.
Though some complained about the priority of this legislation, 263 lawmakers voted for the horse bill in the final tally, with only 146 daring to say "nay."
The administration has stated that they opposed the bill in a letter sent to the House of Representatives' Committee on Agriculture. This may be an issue that will have to be dealt with when the bill goes before the U.S. Senate as S.1915.
The Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) also opposes the horse slaughter ban. LMA Director of Information John McBride said he's concerned Congress won’t stop at banning horse slaughter, and said opponents of the ban will work to keep it off the Senate's agenda.
So congratulations go out to all those who contacted their respective Representatives and let their thoughts be known. And thanks go out to all of those 263 members of our Congress who thought about the issue and listened to their constituents.
And a special thanks goes to FlyingFilly.com and all the resources they put together to help all of us better understand the issues and the actions that can be taken.
You have all proven that our system works!
Our lexidiem is Congress.
Technorati tags: HR 503, Barbaro, Barbaro Burger, fast food, AHSPA, SAPL, basashi, lexidiem, jargontalk, FlyingFilly, Willie Nelson, Kinky Friedman, Bo Derek, Dallas Crown, John Sweeney, John Spratt, Ed Whitfield, John Ensign, Mary Landrieu, Bob Goodlatte, S.1915, horsemeat, LMA, John McBride
4 comments:
Thanks to all of those who cared enough to take the time out of their day to write, call, and email their representatives. This isn't done, so we must keep going forward.
Thanks to Jargon Talk for putting this on your blog.
Thank you so much for bringing light to this important issue. Although the pro slaughter side is up in arms over the possibilities, they should rest assured that the right of an owner to humanely euthanize their horse has not been taken away. The only option that will cease to exist, by the passage of this bill, will be that of the right to profit by sending their horse to execution.
It is time to move on to the Senate and bring a swift end to the barbaric practice of slaughtering horses in the U.S. by foreign owned companies to supply foreign appetites. Please take the time to contact your Senator in support of S. 1915, The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. Thank you for your support of this bill in the House. One by one, we can all make a difference.
We have horsemeat sold here. Somehow I don't have any problems with eating it. But it's tradition.
Replies...
Black Dog, in part it's a cultural thing because horses hold a special place in our American culture, and I agree that horses are our friends. The modern horse arrived with the of the Conquistadors and helped settle this land. Native Americans quickly adopted and venerated the horse as much if not even more than the settlers. Perhaps the issue might not have raised its head if the slaughtering of horses had been done in a more humane fashion by the three Belgian owned slaughterhouses. In any case, the issue still has to pass the U.S. Senate as S.1915.
Kathy, a lot of America was settled by people of English, Irish and Scottish extraction. The ancient Celts would not eat horse meat as the animal was sacred to them, and some of this may be partially infused in our contemporary culture. You do have horsemeat sold in many European countries, but our traditions run contrary to that. And again, a lot of the issue here has to do with the disgraceful way the slaughtering of horses has been done here by the equine abattoirs.
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