Bipartisan bill introduced in Congress to end slaughter of American equines

The last horse slaughter plants in the United States closed years ago, and Congress hasconsistently voted to prohibit funding for horse slaughter inspections within U.S borders. Unfortunately, this does not prevent the inhumane transport of American equines to other countries. Each year, tens of thousands of our horses and burros are transported under terrible conditions to Canada and Mexico, where they meet a cruel end because there is no federal law stopping such transport across our borders.

The Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act, introduced today by Reps. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., and Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., would change all that. Their measure proposes to end the transport of American horses, burros and other equines abroad to be slaughtered for human consumption, and it would also ensure that horse slaughter plants on U.S. soil remain shuttered.

Horse slaughter is fundamentally cruel, from the way the animals are transported to the methods used to kill them. The horses and burros are shipped in overcrowded trucks for many hours, even days, without food, water or rest. The animals are extremely stressed and they are frequently injured, or even killed, in transit.

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