Support bill to end cruel transport of horses to slaughter‏

Why This Is Important

Support bill to end cruel transport of horses to slaughter‏.

STOP THE SLAUGHTER OF HORSES!!!

Horses should NOT be transported in double decker trailers!

And they should not be slaughtered!

Keep USA horses in the pastures and off the tables.

The Transport:

Many people do not think about how horses get to slaughter plants, while the transportation of these horses destined for slaughter may be the most inhumane leg of the journey for these animals. As one can expect, the horse slaughter industry does not provide for much, if any, humane treatment of the horses.

You may pass a double-decker cattle trailer on the highway and wonder if it's carrying cattle or pigs. You may not know that it could be carrying horses. Stallions, mares, foals, geldings, sick, injured, old, young, piled together in a trailer too short for them to hold their heads up, too slippery for those with shoes, and unsafe for all as they are crammed in indiscriminately and not secured in any way.

Many do not make it, and die on the way. In many states, this form of transportation is illegal for horses, but even in those states, without the passing of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, there's no surefire prevention for this type of transportation for horses. Because many of the horses slaughtered in IL and TX come from the PMU farms in Canada, those horses are subjected to long, hard rides with little if any food or water. We'd like to think that these drivers stop to feed and water these horses, however, the fact that killer buyers and even those that transport to slaughter never seem to be able to sit through an interview, and even go so far as to send decoys so investigators cannot follow their trucks leaves little hope that they do anything to make the journey for these horses comfortable.

It also does not bode well for the horses when many deadly accidents have occurred in the transport of these live horses which in the end revealed the drivers had multiple accidents on their records.

The Slaughter:

There are currently three well-known horse slaughter houses in the US; Bel-Tex, and Dallas Crown in Texas, and Cavel International in Illinois. Both Dallas Crown and Bel-Tex have outdoor holding pens, while Cavel does not. At Cavel, the horses usually are killed the day they are shipped, or the day after. When the horses arrive, they are led around a rusty and quite primitive chute that would be unfit for cattle. They are not protected from sight, smell, or sound, but rather, they are allowed to sense all that occurs. This is dangerous to a prey animal such as a horse which chooses flight over fight, and which becomes frightened very easily.

The horses then make it to the "knock box" which isn't anything more than a bloody metal box with slippery footing and no head restraint whatsoever. (Remember, cattle are almost always restrained at the head when being stunned despite their short necks and considerably less range of motion about their heads than horses). Workers then use a captive bolt stunner or pneumatic bolt gun, both which utilize the "stunning" process by which a bolt is inserted and withdrawn from the brain of the horse. The hit should occur in a designated spot on the horse's head. In order for these instruments to work properly, they need to be calibrated preferably after every blow or two, and the workers administering the blow need to be well-trained to say the least.

Unfortunately, the horse slaughter industry is based on speed, not accuracy, and the proof is in the undercover footage shot at slaughtering facilities, as well as those who have visited these facilities in undercover investigations. For example, in one video shot by the Humane Farming Association, a horse is seen struggling for a whole minute just to stand up on the blood-slicked floor of the knock box. Another horse is seen dodging the bolt gun and getting hit in the shoulder, neck, side of the face, and then the head. It should take only one shot to stun a horse, and not one of the horses in the video was stunned on the first try.

In order for horses to be used for human consumption, they cannot be killed by the captive bolt gun, but rather, stunned until they can die by being "bled out". That is why they call it "stunning" because when done properly, the horse is rendered unconscious and should be basically brain dead.

Oftentimes, due to the lack of experience by the stunner, horses wake up while being strung up by their hind legs while being "bled-out". The bleeding process is performed by hanging the horse upside down by a hind leg so the blood rushes to the head, and the throat is slit while the horse is stunned. The loss of blood causes the death of the horse, so that it may be fit for human consumption. The horse's body is then harvested piece by piece. The skull is taken out, the skin is removed, and the usable carcass is frozen or chilled for packing.

Double Deck Trailer Accidents Carrying Horses

Any accident involving horses is a terrible scene. Due to the number of horses on double deckers, and due to a history of floor collapses where the top deck collapses onto the bottom, and or the bottom deck collapses and horses legs are dragged on the highway, these accidents result in the deaths of numerous horses and horrific injuries to those who survive. For rescuers the problem is magnified due to the sheer number of horses that have been packed into an overcrowded trailer.

As time allows we will be uploading from our files news stories and police reports of these terrible accidents. These trailers needed to be banned 30 years ago as they were in the New England States. If you are aware of other accidents please send as much information as you can and help the EPN build a repository of information for media and the American Public demonstrating the horrors of this inhumane transport.

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The   Applauds Passage of H.R. 305, the Act, in the House Transportation and Infrastructure CommitteeHorse Transportation SafetyHumane Society of the United States

(July 29, 2010)—The Humane Society of the United States applauds the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for passing legislation—H.R. 305, the Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2009—that will vastly improve the welfare of horse transport in the United States.

Chairman James Oberstar, D-Minn., and Ranking Member John Mica, R-Fla., exhibited strong leadership for horse protection by moving this bill for a vote. Chairman Oberstar spoke eloquently about the dangers horses faced in a series of accidents involving double-decker trailers and commended the bipartisan nature of the legislation. Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa, offered an amendment to remove the ban on double deckers from the bill and to simply regulate these vehicles. He then agreed to withdraw the amendment after several members from both parties spoke strongly against it as undermining the need for an immediate ban.

The legislation would prohibit the interstate transportation of horses in a motor vehicle containing two or more levels stacked on top of one another. The bill was introduced by U.S. Reps. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., and Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., and has 70 House cosponsors. In addition to Chairman Oberstar and Rep. Cohen, Reps. John Hall, D-N.Y., Phil Hare, D-Ill., and Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., also spoke in strong support of the legislation today.

“The time has come for Congress to ban double decker trailers for all horses,” said Keith Dane, The HSUS’ director of equine protection. “We don’t need any more gruesome incidents to know that double-decker trailers are inhumane and unsafe. These vehicles are primarily used by the horse slaughter industry for hauling as many horses as possible from auctions to slaughter plants in Canada and Mexico. The American public loves horses and this legislation is urgently needed to prevent future tragedies.”

Double-decker trailers are designed for animals such as cattle and pigs – shorter-necked species than horses, who require more headroom than double-decker trailers afford. Horses often throw their heads to maintain balance, and injure easily in such vehicles.

The USDA has stated: “We do not believe that equines can be safely and humanely transported on a conveyance that has an animal cargo space divided into two or more stacked levels.” (9 CFR Parts 70 and 88)

“It is time that we put an end to the inhumane practice of using double-decker trailers to transport horses,” Rep. Kirk said. “Stacking these animals one atop the other in a moving vehicle is simply an accident waiting to happen. It is not only a cruel way to transport horses, but it also puts human lives at risk.”

Rep. Cohen said, “Using double-stacked trailers is inhumane and cruel. Our bill prohibits any interstate transportation of horses in double-stacked trailers and implements tough civil penalties for anyone caught using such deplorable modes of transportation for horses.”

Recent accidents graphically demonstrate the dangers of the double-decker trailers. In 2006, a double-decker truck hauling 41 horses in Missouri crashed, killing 16 horses. In 2007, a double-decker carrying 59 horses in Illinois struck another vehicle after blowing through a stop sign. It took five hours to rescue the horses from this mangled truck, resulting in the death of nine horses; six died later due to injuries sustained. In both instances, the design of the trailers caused horses to lose parts of their legs or break their backs. Others were crushed under the weight of other horses falling on top of them.

Congress will soon recess for the summer but returns in September when H.R. 305 is now cleared for a vote before the U.S. House of Representatives.

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