[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 110 (Friday, September 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1677-E1678]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                AMERICAN HORSE SLAUGHTER PREVENTION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 7, 2006

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 503) to 
     amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, 
     transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, 
     purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines 
     to be slaughtered for human consumption, and for other 
     purposes:

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 
503, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.
  Mr. Chairman, horses have served humans throughout history, carrying 
us on their backs to safety, tilling our fields, drawing wagons and 
carriages across the great plains and grand prairies, enriching our 
lives as friends and companions. But they have never served the people 
of the United States as a source of food. Yet today, American horses 
are being killed so their meat can satisfy the palates of overseas 
diners in Europe and Asia. Show horses, racehorses, wild horses, and 
family horses can all be destined for the slaughterhouse and exported 
as foodstuff to foreign lands.
  This trade in horsemeat is hidden from most Americans and the 
industry wants to keep it that way. To quote the operations manager of 
a horse slaughterhouse located in Canada:

       Talking about horses is kind of a scary thing, especially 
     in the West, where people think it's more of a pet than 
     protein. When anybody starts writing about horses, everybody 
     gets up in arms. Every time we say anything about horse in 
     the paper, there's always an uproar, so I don't want to talk 
     about it.

  Mr. Chairman, it has been reported that most of the horses that end 
up being slaughtered are brought in by jobbers who serve as middlemen 
for the slaughterhouses. These jobbers readily purchase as many horses 
as possible at livestock auctions around the country and haul them to 
the plants to be butchered. Many horses are sold at auction by 
irresponsible owners seeking an easy means

[[Page E1678]]

to dispose of animals they no longer want. Others, however, are 
consigned by caring owners who simply have no idea of the fate awaiting 
the animals.
  Additionally, hundreds--perhaps thousands--of horses are stolen each 
year. Horse thieves make fast money by unloading their stolen bounty 
to jobbers or slaughterhouses, which typically kill and process the 
animals within 24 hours, making it virtually impossible to trace and 
recover the stolen animals in time.

  Currently, there are foreign-owned slaughterhouses operating in the 
United States that slaughter horses for human consumption. They are 
Beltex Corporation in Ft. Worth, Texas; Dallas Crown in Kaufman, Texas 
and Cavel International in DeKalb, Illinois. According to the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, 65,976 horses were slaughtered in 2004, up 
from 50,564 the previous year. In addition, thousands more horses are 
transported under deplorable conditions across our borders to Canada 
and Mexico to face a similar fate.
  Conditions of transport can be brutal. It is not unusual for horses 
to be hauled for more than 24 hours without rest, water or food in 
trailers that provide little protection from the elements. Many 
horses--sick, lame, pregnant or blind--are in distress even before 
being loaded.
  Once at the slaughterhouse, the suffering gets worse. Horses are left 
for long periods in tightly packed trailers, subjected to further 
extremes of heat and cold. In hot weather, thirst is acute. Downed 
animals are unable to rise. All the horses are moved off forcibly when 
it's time to unload and hurried through the facility into the kill box. 
In the face of these deplorable conditions, including overcrowding, 
deafening noise, and the smell of blood, the horses typically become 
desperate, exhibiting fear typical of ``flight'' behavior--pacing in 
prance-like movements with their ears pinned back against their heads 
and eyes wide open.
  Despite the Federal mandate that horses be rendered unconscious 
before being put to death, many horses are killed alive by repeated 
blows to the head with captive bolt pistols. While writhing in pain, 
the coupe de grace is administered by a slit of the throat. The dead 
animal is then processed for shipment overseas and destined for a 
foreign dining table.
  Mr. Chairman, I support this legislation because I do not wish to 
sanction the abuse of another noble creature of the American West. The 
magnificent buffaloes that at one time roamed the Great Plains were 
killed by too many settlers and pioneers for sport when they should 
have been used the way they were by Native Americans--for food and 
clothing and fuel. How ironic it is that horses--magnificent, powerful, 
graceful, and athletic--are being used for food instead of sport and 
husbandry.
  Mr. Chairman, I support H.R. 503 because it bans the shipping, 
transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, 
selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for 
human consumption. This is not a fitting end to the animal that has 
played such an important role in defining American character and 
culture. I urge my colleagues to join me in protecting an enduring 
symbol of the West and the favorite animal of Americans everywhere. I 
urge my colleagues to support H.R. 503.

                          ____________________