Current Policy Issues

Contact Congress to Prevent a Ban on Horse Processing

Oppose H.R. 503 to Prohibit Horse Processing
Vote Set for September 7 – Act Now!

The U.S. House of Representatives is preparing to consider Representative John Sweeney's (R-NY) H.R. 503, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. This bill is coming to the floor for a vote in the U.S. House on September 7. OCA needs you to encourage the U.S. House to defeat this irrational attempt at regulating animal agriculture.

A vote for H.R. 503 is a vote against animal agriculture in the U.S. and a vote for the legislation of America’s animal agriculture industry based on emotion and not sound science or public health.

H.R. 503 is alarming because it bans the processing of horses for reasons other than science, safety, or public health.

The processing of horses is done under regulation by the USDA as mandated by the Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906 and under the regulation of the Humane Slaughter Act, and it is a necessary management option for America's horse owners. H.R. 503 is an undue limitation of the property rights’ of horse owners to manage their animals under well-established federal regulation and is an infringement on their basic rights as livestock owners and managers.

This is an extremely emotional issue because horses are looked at as pets more than livestock. However, the American horse industry is a livestock industry, and the processing of horses is a well-regulated and extremely useful management option to keep horses from suffering, starving, and being mistreated by owners who don’t want them.

As a threat to animal agriculture based solely on emotion rather than sound science, the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association continues to actively work to defeat this effort. Last month, the Animal Welfare Council prepared a report on the unintended consequences of a ban on horse processing in the U.S. This report provides some helpful information for your contacts with your Representatives. You can access this report at hill.beef.org/pdfs/AWCUnintendedConsequencesHR503.pdf.

Of special importance, we need everyone to contact House Speaker Hastert (R-IL), Majority Leader Boehner (R-OH), Energy and Commerce Chairman Barton (R-TX) and Majority Whip Blunt (R-MO), and encourage them to help defeat H.R. 503. The list of Ohio’s Representatives that are current co-sponsors of H.R. 503., are: Steve Chabot (R-1st); Michael Oxley (R-4th); Ted Strickland (D-6th); Marcy Kaptur (D-9th); Dennis Kucinich (D-10th); Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-11th); Sherrod Brown (D-13th); Steve LaTourette (R-14th); Deborah Pryce (R-15th); Ralph Regula (R-16th); Tim Ryan (D-17th); Bob Ney (R-18th). If your Representative is co-sponsoring H.R. 503, please contact them, and urge them to remove their name and VOTE NO on H.R. 503.

Please visit capwiz.com/beefusa to easily email a letter to those identified above. Whether you prefer to call or email your Representative, now is the time for them to hear from you!

Please remember that we cannot take any vote for granted on this issue as it continues to gather support based solely on emotion. So, even if your Representative is not a co-sponsor, please use the capwiz feature to send him or her a letter urging a NO VOTE on H.R. 503.