[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 69 (Monday, April 30, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E890]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   WILD FREE-ROAMING HORSES AND BURROS SALE AND SLAUGHTER PROHIBITION

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                               speech of

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 26, 2007

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 249, 
to ban the commercial sale and slaughter of wild free-roaming horses 
and burros.
  At the beginning of the 20th century, there were an estimated 2 
million wild horses and burros, but by the 1950s there were only 
20,000. Today, the number of horses has increased to 32,000. The 
population is mainly controlled through adoption. Since 1972, almost 
217,000 horses have been adopted.
  This is mostly due to the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 
1971, which has sought to preserve wild horses and burros on federal 
lands and has made the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) responsible for 
their preservation.
  In 2004, the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was amended to 
reverse the long-standing policy that protected wild horses from being 
shipped off to slaughterhouses. It also removed the criminal penalties 
that are imposed for such actions. Seeking to correct this injustice is 
H.R. 249, which would once again place a prohibition on the commercial 
sale and slaughter of wild horses and burros.
  As a compassionate society, we have an obligation to protect all 
animals. Some scientists have found that America's wild horses have 
greater genetic diversity, as compared to their domestic counterparts, 
due to little inbreeding.
  Sadly, this bill is too late to save some horses. There have been 
several cases of horses that were purchased for seemingly innocuous 
reasons and then sent immediately to slaughter. H.R. 249 would protect 
the more than 8,400 horses that are in jeopardy of being slaughtered.
  Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to pass H.R. 249, which would 
restore the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild 
free-roaming horses and burros.

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