[Senate Report 110-229]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




                                                       Calendar No. 488
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                    110-229

======================================================================



                   TO AMEND THE HORSE PROTECTION ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 OF THE

           COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION

                                   on

                                 S. 311



                                     

               November 14, 2007.--Ordered to be printed


       SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION


                       one hundred tenth congress
                             first session

                   DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii, Chairman

                   TED STEVENS, Alaska, Vice-Chairman

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West         JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
    Virginia                         TRENT LOTT, Mississippi
JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts         KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas
BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota        OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine
BARBARA BOXER, California            GORDON H. SMITH, Oregon
BILL NELSON, Florida                 JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington           JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire
FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey      JIM DeMINT, South Carolina
MARK PRYOR, Arkansas                 DAVID VITTER, Louisiana
THOMAS CARPER, Delaware              JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri
AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
          Margaret Cummisky, Staff Director and Chief Counsel
         Lila Helms, Deputy Staff Director and Policy Director
       Jean Toal Eisen, Senior Advisor and Deputy Policy Director
     Christine Kurth, Republican Staff Director and General Counsel
                Paul J. Nagle, Republican Chief Counsel


                                                       Calendar No. 488
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                    110-229

======================================================================



 
                   TO AMEND THE HORSE PROTECTION ACT

                                _______
                                

               November 14, 2007.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

       Mr. Inouye, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation, submitted the following

                                 REPORT

                         [To accompany S. 311]

    The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to 
which was referred the bill (S. 311) 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, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon without an amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                          Purpose of the Bill

  S. 311 is a bill to end the interstate transportation of 
horses and other equines for the purpose of slaughter for human 
consumption.

                          Background and Needs

  The purpose of S. 311 is to end the domestic slaughter of 
horses and other equines for the purpose of selling horse meat 
for human consumption. Debate regarding this issue revolves 
around the acceptability of horse slaughter, and how to care 
for or humanely dispose of horses that may no longer be 
slaughtered for human food.
  While it is uncommon to consume horse meat in the United 
States, horse meat is considered a delicacy in many other 
nations. This culinary interest has generated a significant 
demand for horse products, and has led to the slaughter of 
horses for human consumption in facilities located in various 
nations. Until recently, three Belgian-owned facilities, 
located in Texas and Illinois, were the sole horse 
slaughterhouses in the United States. These facilities 
slaughtered for export approximately 100,000 horses annually. 
The United States exported more than 17,000 metric tons of 
horse meat valued at about $65 million in 2006. Most of these 
slaughtered horses were raised for other purposes--the majority 
for riding--but they were no longer wanted by their owners and 
were sold at auctions or through other means. The U.N. Food and 
Agriculture Organization estimates that Canada and Mexico, 
respectively, slaughtered a total of 88,000 and 626,000 horses 
for horsemeat in 2005. A portion of these horses were shipped 
from the United States, which, in 2005, exported more than 
21,000 live horses to Canada and more than 11,000 to Mexico. 
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), over 90 
percent of horses currently sent to slaughter are healthy and 
in good condition. Slaughterhouses generally seek such horses, 
rather than old or infirm horses, because of the superior 
quality of meat from these animals.
  Federal laws neither ban the use of equines for food nor set 
on-farm care standards. Protection usually is subject to 
varying State and local laws. Some of these laws may set 
affirmative care standards, although more are likely to be 
anti-cruelty measures. However, U.S. horse slaughter plants are 
subject to the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) of 1906, as 
amended (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), which requires the USDA to 
inspect all cattle, sheep, swine, goats, and equines 
slaughtered and processed into products for human food. This 
Act, administered by USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service 
(FSIS), aims to ensure that meat and meat products from these 
animals are safe, wholesome, and properly labeled. FSIS safety 
inspection is mandatory, and most costs must be covered by 
appropriated funds, except for overtime and holiday periods. 
Meat inspectors also are charged with enforcing the Humane 
Slaughter Act (7 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.), requiring that livestock 
(but not poultry) be rendered unconscious prior to slaughter. 
Plants also can request that graders from USDA's Agricultural 
Marketing Service be placed in their plants to assign official 
grades to their products based on quality traits and yield. 
Plants pay user fees for this inspection service, which is 
voluntary and conducted under authority of the Agricultural 
Marketing Act of 1946 (AMA) (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.). The AMA is 
also the authority FSIS uses to provide voluntary food safety 
inspections of animals and products not specifically covered by 
either the FMIA or the Poultry Products Inspection Act.
  Horses may have to be shipped long distances to reach the few 
plants that will slaughter them. Horse practitioners and 
welfare groups gained passage of language in the 1996 farm bill 
(P.L. 104-127, Title IX-A, Commercial Transportation of Equine 
for Slaughter, 7 U.S.C. note) that authorizes the Secretary of 
Agriculture to issue guidelines for regulating such transport, 
subject to available appropriations. USDA's Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service developed guidelines with the 
cooperation of horse groups, and they became effective February 
5, 2002.
  Several States--including Texas--have laws aimed at 
preventing the slaughter of horses for human food. A Federal 
lawsuit filed by the owners of the two Texas slaughter plants, 
Beltex Corporation and Dallas Crown, Inc., sought to clarify 
that the Texas state law banning the sale of horsemeat, first 
passed in 1949, was not enforceable and that they should not be 
prosecuted. The U.S. District Court had earlier agreed with the 
plants' owners that the law had been repealed, was preempted by 
the FMIA, and violated the dormant Commerce Clause of the U.S. 
Constitution. However, on January 19, 2007, a panel of the U.S. 
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected all three 
arguments in the lower court's ruling, declaring the Texas law 
to be in force and clearing the way for the State Attorney 
General to prosecute the plants' owners if they continued to 
operate.
  A separate March 2007 decision by a Federal Circuit Court 
effectively ended the domestic slaughter of horses for human 
consumption by blocking the USDA from providing any horse meat 
inspections. Congress ended Federal funding for horse meat 
inspections in the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and 
Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 
2006, but the USDA circumvented this provision by devising a 
plan to provide the inspections of horse meat for a fee. In the 
decision in the case by the Humane Society of the United 
States, the Court found that the USDA did not follow Federal 
procedures for setting up the inspection fee program. It has 
been reported that these rulings have forced the two plants in 
Texas to cease operations and will purportedly cause horse meat 
production at the Illinois facility to end.

                         Summary of Provisions

  S. 311 would amend the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1821 
et seq.), which currently makes it a crime to exhibit or 
transport for the purpose of exhibition any ``sore'' horse 
(i.e., one whose feet have been injured to alter its gait). The 
bill would prohibit the ``shipping, transporting, moving, 
delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or 
donation of any horse or other equine to be slaughtered for 
human consumption.'' Additionally, the bill would permit USDA 
to detain for examination and evidence any horse for which it 
has probable cause that the animal will be slaughtered for 
food. Violators would be subject to specified criminal and 
civil penalties and prison terms. The bill would increase the 
authorization of appropriations for administering the Act from 
$500,000 to $5 million annually.

                          Legislative History

  S. 311 was introduced on January 17, 2007, by Senator 
Landrieu and co-sponsored by Senators Ensign, Byrd, Snowe, 
Kerry, Collins, Boxer, Graham, Carper, Levin, Reed, and 
Menendez and was referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation. On April 25, 2007, the Committee 
met in open executive session and ordered S. 311 reported 
favorably, without amendment.

                            Estimated Costs

  In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the 
following cost estimate, prepared by the Congressional Budget 
Office:

S. 311--A bill 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

    Summary: S. 311 would amend provisions of the Horse 
Protection Act of 1970 related to the slaughter of certain 
equines for human consumption. The bill would authorize the 
Secretary of Agriculture to detain and examine, test, or taking 
evidence from any equine if the Secretary has probable cause to 
believe that the equine may be slaughtered for human 
consumption. The bill would authorize the appropriations of $5 
million per year for those purposes. Enacting S. 311 would not 
affect direct spending or revenues.
    S. 311 would impose a private-sector and an 
intergovernmental mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates 
Reform Act (UMRA). It would amend the Horse Protection Act to 
prohibit shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, 
possessing, purchasing, selling, or donating a horse or other 
equine to be slaughtered for human consumption. CBO expects 
that the cost of the mandate would fall below the thresholds 
established by UMRA for private-sector and intergovernmental 
mandates ($131 million and $66 million, respectively, in 2007, 
adjusted annually for inflation).
    Estimated cost to the Federal government: The estimated 
budgetary impact of S. 311 is shown in the following table. The 
costs of this legislation fall within budget function 350 
(agriculture). Assuming appropriation of the authorized 
amounts, CBO estimates that implementing S. 311 would cost the 
federal government $4 million in fiscal year 2008 and $24 
million over the 2008-2012 period.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      By fiscal year, in millions of
                                                 dollars--
                                 ---------------------------------------
                                   2008    2009    2010    2011    2012
------------------------------------------------------------------------
              CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Estimated Authorization Level          5       5       5       5       5
Estimated Outlays                      4       5       5       5       5
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: By prohibiting 
shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, 
possessing, purchasing, selling, or donating a horse or other 
equine to be slaughtered for human consumption, S. 311 would 
impose a private-sector and an intergovernmental mandate as 
defined in UMRA. The cost of the mandate to the private sector 
would be the loss of income to entities involved in the horse 
slaughter industry and the cost to horse owners to dispose of 
horses that otherwise would have been slaughtered for human 
consumption. Based on information from USDA, CBO expects that 
those costs would fall below the annual threshold established 
by UMRA for private-sector mandates ($131 million in 2007, 
adjusted annually for inflation).
    This mandate also would affect state, local, and tribal 
governments to the extent that they would be responsible for 
unwanted horses that otherwise would have been sold contrary to 
this prohibition. Because most unwanted horses remain in the 
hands of private individuals or organizations, CBO estimates 
that this cost would not be large, and would be well below the 
threshold established in UMRA for intergovernmental mandates 
($66 million in 2007, adjusted annually for inflation).
    Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Jim Langley; Impact on 
State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Marjorie Miller; Impact 
on the Private Sector: Amy Petz.
    Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                      Regulatory Impact Statement

  In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the 
following evaluation of the regulatory impact of the 
legislation, as reported:

                       NUMBER OF PERSONS COVERED

  S. 311 is expected to impact the small number of persons in 
United States who may seek to export horses to other countries 
for the purpose of slaughter for human consumption.

                            ECONOMIC IMPACT

  S. 311 is not expected to have an adverse impact on the U.S. 
economy. At the present time, the commercial facilities that 
had previously engaged in the slaughtering of horses for human 
consumption have ended this service, so this bill will have no 
impact on domestic slaughter operations. Horse owners who sell 
horses for slaughter to other countries, typically Mexico or 
Canada, would be prohibited from transporting horses for such 
purposes in interstate commerce. According to the USDA, roughly 
3,000 horses are currently being sent to Canada and Mexico for 
slaughter for human consumption per month now that all domestic 
slaughterhouses are closed, equaling roughly 72,000 horses 
exported for this purpose per year. Ending this export trade 
may result in lower income to owners currently involved in this 
trade for the sale of their horses, but the Committee believes 
that many outlets will still exist for horse owners to dispose 
of their horses for other commercial purposes. For further 
analysis of the economic impact on the private sector, see page 
2 of the CBO estimate.

                                PRIVACY

  S. 311 would have no effect on the privacy rights of 
individuals.

                               PAPERWORK

  The Committee anticipates no increase in paperwork burdens on 
requirements for private individuals or businesses as a result 
of this bill.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1: Prohibits the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, 
        receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling or donation of 
        horses and other equines for slaughter for human consumption

  Subsection (a) would define human consumption and what 
constitutes the slaughter of horses.
  Subsection (b) would contain the bill's findings, including 
that horses are vital to the United States and deserve 
protection; that horses are domestic animals; that they are 
unlike cows, pigs, and other animals that are raised for the 
purpose of being slaughtered for human consumption; that horses 
cannot be safely and humanely transported in double deck 
trailers; and that horse slaughter has an adverse effect and 
burden on interstate and foreign commerce.
  Subsection (c) would outline what actions are prohibited if 
the purpose associated with that action is to slaughter a horse 
for human consumption.
  Subsection (d) would provide the Secretary of Agriculture the 
authority to detain and examine horses at various locations for 
the purpose of taking evidence on the belief that the horse is 
sore or if that an action prohibited under subsection (c) is 
taking place.
  Subsection (e) would increase the authorized appropriations 
amount to carry out the Horse Protection Act from $500,000 to 
$5,000,000.

                        Changes in Existing Law

  In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill, 
as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be 
omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new material is printed 
in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown 
in roman):

                          HORSE PROTECTION ACT

                      [15 U.S.C. 1821-Definitions]

  Sec. 2. As used in this Act unless the context otherwise 
requires:
          (1) The term ``human consumption'' means ingestion by 
        people as a source of food.
          [(1)] (2) The term ``management'' means any person 
        who organizes, exercises control over, or administers 
        or who is responsible for organizing, directing, or 
        administering.
          [(2)] (3) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.
          (4) The term ``slaughter'' means the killing of 1 or 
        more horses or other equines with the intent to sell or 
        trade the flesh for human consumption.
          [(3)] (5) The term ``sore'' when used to describe a 
        horse means that--
                  (A) an irritating or blistering agent has 
                been applied, internally or externally, by a 
                person to any limb of a horse,
                  (B) any burn, cut, or laceration has been 
                inflicted by a person on any limb of a horse,
                  (C) any tack, nail, screw, or chemical agent 
                has been injected by a person into or used by a 
                person on any limb of a horse, or
                  (D) any other substance or device has been 
                used by a person on any limb of a horse or a 
                person has engaged in a practice involving a 
                horse, and, as a result of such application, 
                infliction, injection, use, or practice, such 
                horse suffers, or can reasonably be expected to 
                suffer, physical pain or distress, 
                inflammation, or lameness when walking, 
                trotting, or otherwise moving, except that such 
                term does not include such an application, 
                infliction, injection, use, or practice in 
                connection with the therapeutic treatment of a 
                horse by or under the supervision of a person 
                licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the 
                State in which such treatment was given.
                  [(4)] (6) The term ``State'' means any of the 
                several States, the District of Columbia, the 
                Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin 
                Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Trust 
                Territory of the Pacific Islands.

          [15 U.S.C. 1822-Congressional statement of findings]

  Sec. 3. The Congress finds and declares that--
          (1) horses and other equines play a vital role in the 
        collective experience of the United States and deserve 
        protection and compassion;
          (2) horses and other equines are domestic animals 
        that are used primarily for recreation, pleasure, and 
        sport;
          (3) unlike cows, pigs, and many other animals, horses 
        and other equines are not raised for the purpose of 
        being slaughtered for human consumption;
          (4) individuals selling horses or other equines at 
        auctions are seldom aware that the animals may be 
        bought for the purpose of being slaughtered for human 
        consumption;
          (5) the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of 
        the Department of Agriculture has found that horses and 
        other equines cannot be safely and humanely transported 
        in double deck trailers;
          [(1)] (6) the soring of horses is cruel and inhumane;
          [(2)] (7) horses shown or exhibited which are sore, 
        where such soreness improves the performance of such 
        horse, compete unfairly with horses which are not sore;
          [(3)] (8) [the movement, showing, exhibition, or sale 
        of sore horses in intrastate commerce adversely affects 
        and burdens interstate and foreign commerce] the 
        movement, showing, exhibition, or sale of sore horses 
        in intrastate commerce, and the shipping, transporting, 
        moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, 
        selling, or donation in intrastate commerce of horses 
        and other equines to be slaughtered for human 
        consumption, adversely affect and burden interstate and 
        foreign commerce;
          [(4)] (9) all horses which are subject to regulation 
        under this Act are either in interstate or foreign 
        commerce or substantially affect such commerce; and
          [(5)] (10) regulation under this Act by the Secretary 
        is appropriate to prevent and eliminate burdens upon 
        commerce and to effectively regulate commerce.

                     [15 U.S.C. 1824-Unlawful acts]

  Sec. 5. The following conduct is prohibited:
          (1) The shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, 
        or receiving of any horse which is sore with reason to 
        believe that such horse while it is sore may be shown, 
        exhibited, entered for the purpose of being shown or 
        exhibited, sold, auctioned, or offered for sale, in any 
        horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction; 
        except that this paragraph does not apply to the 
        shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, or 
        receiving of any horse by a common or contract carrier 
        or an employee thereof in the usual course of the 
        carrier's business or employee's employment unless the 
        carrier or employee has reason to believe that such 
        horse is sore.
          (2) The (A) showing or exhibiting, in any horse show 
        or horse exhibition, of any horse which is sore, (B) 
        entering for the purpose of showing or exhibiting in 
        any horse show or horse exhibition, any horse which is 
        sore, (C) selling, auctioning, or offering for sale, in 
        any horse sale or auction, any horse which is sore, and 
        (D) allowing any activity described in clause (A), (B), 
        or (C) respecting a horse which is sore by the owner of 
        such horse.
          (3) The failure by the management of any horse show 
        or horse exhibition, which does not appoint and retain 
        a person in accordance with section 4(c) of this Act, 
        to disqualify from being shown or exhibited any horse 
        which is sore.
          (4) The failure by the management of any horse sale 
        or auction, which does not appoint and retain a 
        qualified person in accordance with section 4(c) of 
        this Act, to prohibit the sale, offering for sale, or 
        auction of any horse which is sore.
          (5) The failure by the management of any horse show 
        or horse exhibition, which has appointed and retained a 
        person in accordance with section 4(c) of this Act, to 
        disqualify from being shown or exhibited any horse (A) 
        which is sore; and (B) after having been notified by 
        such person or the Secretary that the horse is sore or 
        after otherwise having knowledge that the horse is 
        sore.
          (6) The failure by the management of any horse sale 
        or auction which has appointed and retained a person in 
        accordance with section 4(c) of this Act, to prohibit 
        the sale, offering for sale, or auction of any horse 
        (A) which is sore, and (B) after having been notified 
        by such person or the Secretary or after otherwise 
        having knowledge that the horse is sore.
          (7) The showing or exhibiting at a horse show or 
        horse exhibition; the selling or auctioning at a horse 
        sale or auction; the allowing to be shown, exhibited, 
        or sold at a horse show, horse exhibition, or horse 
        sale or auction; the entering for the purpose of 
        showing or exhibiting in any horse show or horse 
        exhibition; or offering for sale at a horse sale or 
        auction, any horse which is wearing or bearing any 
        equipment, device, paraphernalia, or substance which 
        the Secretary by regulation under section 9 prohibits 
        to prevent the soring of horses.
          (8) The shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, 
        receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation 
        of any horse or other equine to be slaughtered for 
        human consumption.
          [(8)] (9) The failing to establish, maintain, or 
        submit records, notices, reports, or other information 
        required under section 4.
          [(9)] (10) The failure or refusal to permit access to 
        or copying of records, or the failure or refusal to 
        permit entry or inspection, as required by section 4.
          [(10)] (11) The removal of any marking required by 
        the Secretary to identify a horse as being detained.
          [(11)] (12) The failure or refusal to provide the 
        Secretary with adequate space or facilities, as the 
        Secretary may by regulation under section 9 prescribe, 
        in which to conduct inspections or any other activity 
        authorized to be performed by the Secretary under this 
        Act.

               [15 U.S.C. 1825-Violations and penalties]

  Sec. 6. (a)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this 
subsection, any person who knowingly violates section 5 shall, 
upon conviction thereof, be fined not more than $3,000, or 
imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.
  (2)(A) If any person knowingly violates section 5, after one 
or more prior convictions of such person for such a violation 
have become final, such person shall, upon conviction thereof, 
be fined not more than $5,000, or imprisoned for not more than 
two years, or both.
  (B) Any person who knowingly makes, or causes to be made, a 
false entry or statement in any report required under this Act; 
who knowingly makes, or causes to be made, any false entry in 
any account, record, or memorandum required to be established 
and maintained by any person or in any notification or other 
information required to be submitted to the Secretary under 
section 4 of this Act; who knowingly neglects or fails to make 
or cause to be made, full, true, and correct entries in such 
accounts, records, memoranda, notification, or other materials; 
who knowingly removes any such documentary evidence out of the 
jurisdiction of the United States; who knowingly mutilates, 
alters, or by any other means falsifies any such documentary 
evidence; or who knowingly refuses to submit any such 
documentary evidence to the Secretary for inspection and 
copying shall be guilty of an offense against the United 
States, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more 
than $5,000, or imprisoned for not more than three years, or 
both.
  (C) Any person who forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, 
impedes, intimidates, or interferes with any person while 
engaged in or on account of the performance of his official 
duties under this Act shall be fined not more than $5,000, or 
imprisoned not more than three years, or both. Whoever, in the 
commission of such acts, uses a deadly or dangerous weapon 
shall be fined not more than $10,000, or imprisoned not more 
than ten years, or both. Whoever kills any person while engaged 
in or on account of the performance of his official duties 
under this Act shall be punishable as provided under sections 
1111 and 1112 of title 18, United States Code.
  (b)(1) Any person who violates section 5 of this Act shall be 
liable to the United States for a civil penalty of not more 
than $2,000 for each violation. No penalty shall be assessed 
unless such person is given notice and opportunity for a 
hearing before the Secretary with respect to such violation. 
The amount of such civil penalty shall be assessed by the 
Secretary by written order. In determining the amount of such 
penalty, the Secretary shall take into account all factors 
relevant to such determination, including the nature, 
circumstances, extent, and gravity of the prohibited conduct 
and, with respect to the person found to have engaged in such 
conduct, the degree of culpability, any history of prior 
offenses, ability to pay, effect on ability to continue to do 
business, and such other matters as justice may require.
  (2) Any person against whom a violation is found and a civil 
penalty assessed under paragraph (1) of this subsection may 
obtain review in the court of appeals of the United States for 
the circuit in which such person resides or has his place of 
business or in the United States Court of Appeals for the 
District of Columbia Circuit by filing a notice of appeal in 
such court within 30 days from the date of such order and by 
simultaneously sending a copy of such notice by certified mail 
to the Secretary. The Secretary shall promptly file in such 
court a certified copy of the record upon which such violation 
was found and such penalty assessed, as provided in section 
2112 of title 28, United States Code. The findings of the 
Secretary shall be set aside if found to be unsupported by 
substantial evidence.
  (3) If any person fails to pay an assessment of a civil 
penalty after it has become a final and unappealable order, or 
after the appropriate court of appeals has entered final 
judgment in favor of the Secretary, the Secretary shall refer 
the matter to the Attorney General, who shall recover the 
amount assessed in any appropriate district court of the United 
States. In such action, the validity and appropriateness of the 
final order imposing the civil penalty shall not be subject to 
review.
  (4) The Secretary may, in his discretion, compromise, modify, 
or remit, with or without conditions, any civil penalty 
assessed under this subsection.
  (c) In addition to any fine, imprisonment, or civil penalty 
authorized under this section, any person who was convicted 
under subsection (a) or who paid a civil penalty assessed under 
subsection (b) or is subject to a final order under such 
subsection assessing a civil penalty for any violation of any 
provision of this Act or any regulation issued under this Act 
may be disqualified by order of the Secretary, after notice and 
an opportunity for a hearing before the Secretary, from showing 
or exhibiting any horse, judging or managing any horse show, 
horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction for a period of not 
less than one year for the first violation and not less than 
five years for any subsequent violation. Any person who 
knowingly fails to obey an order of disqualification shall be 
subject to a civil penalty of not more than $3,000 for each 
violation. Any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or 
auction, or the management thereof, collectively and severally, 
which knowingly allows any person who is under an order of 
disqualification to show or exhibit any horse, to enter for the 
purpose of showing or exhibiting any horse, to take part in 
managing or judging, or otherwise to participate in any horse 
show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction in violation 
of an order shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more 
than $3,000 for each violation. The provisions of subsection 
(b) respecting the assessment, review, collection, and 
compromise, modification, and remission of a civil penalty 
apply with respect to civil penalties under this subsection.
  (d) The Secretary may require by subpena the attendance and 
testimony of witnesses and the production of books, papers, and 
documents relating to any matter under investigation or the 
subject of a proceeding. Witnesses summoned before the 
Secretary shall be paid the same fees and mileage that are paid 
witnesses in the courts of the United States.
  (2) The attendance of witnesses, and the production of books, 
papers, and documents, may be required at any designated place 
from any place in the United States. In case of disobedience to 
a subpena the Secretary, or any party to a proceeding before 
the Secretary, may invoke the aid of any appropriate district 
court of the United States in requiring attendance and 
testimony of witnesses and the production of such books, 
papers, and documents under the provisions of this Act.
  (3) The Secretary may order testimony to be taken by 
deposition under oath in any proceeding or investigation 
pending before him, at any stage of the proceeding or 
investigation. Depositions may be taken before any person 
designated by the Secretary who has power to administer oaths. 
The Secretary may also require the production of books, papers, 
and documents at the taking of depositions.
  (4) Witnesses whose depositions are taken and the persons 
taking them shall be entitled to the same fees as paid for like 
services in the courts of the United States or in other 
jurisdictions in which they may appear.
  (5) In any civil or criminal action to enforce this Act or 
any regulation under this Act a horse shall be presumed to be a 
horse which is sore if it manifests abnormal sensitivity or 
inflammation in both of its forelimbs or both of its hindlimbs.
  (6) The United States district courts, the District Court of 
Guam, the District Court of the Virgin Islands, the highest 
court of American Samoa, and the United States courts of the 
other territories, are vested with jurisdiction specifically to 
enforce, and to prevent and restrain violations of this Act, 
and shall have jurisdiction in all other kinds of cases arising 
under this Act, except as provided in subsection (b) of this 
section.
  (e)(1) The Secretary may detain for examination, testing, or 
the taking of evidence--
          (A) any horse at any horse show, horse exhibition, or 
        horse sale or auction that is sore or that the 
        Secretary has probable cause to believe is sore; and
          (B) any horse or other equine that the Secretary has 
        probable cause to believe is being shipped, 
        transported, moved, delivered, received, possessed, 
        purchased, sold, or donated in violation of section 
        5(8).
  [(1)] (2) [The Secretary may detain (for a period not to 
exceed twenty-four hours) for examination, testing, or the 
taking of evidence, any horse at any horse show, horse 
exhibition, or horse sale or auction which is sore or which the 
Secretary has probable cause to believe is sore.] The Secretary 
may require the temporary marking of any horse during the 
period of its detention for the purpose of identifying the 
horse as detained. A horse which is detained subject to this 
paragraph shall not be moved by any person from the place it is 
so detained except as authorized by the Secretary or until the 
expiration of the detention period applicable to the horse.
  [(2)] (3) Any equipment, device, paraphernalia, or substance 
which was used in violation of any provision of this Act or any 
regulation issued under this Act or which contributed to the 
soring of any horse at or prior to any horse show, horse 
exhibition, or horse sale or auction, shall be liable to be 
proceeded against, by process of libel for the seizure and 
condemnation of such equipment, device, paraphernalia, or 
substance, in any United States district court within the 
jurisdiction of which such equipment, device, paraphernalia, or 
substance is found. Such proceedings shall conform as nearly as 
possible to proceedings in rem in admiralty.

            [15 U.S.C. 1831-Authorization of appropriations]

  Sec. 12. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this Act $125,000 for the period beginning July 1, 1976, and 
ending September 30, 1976; and for the fiscal year beginning 
October 1, 1976, and for each fiscal year thereafter there are 
authorized to be appropriated such sums, not to exceed 
[$500,000] $5,000,000, as may be necessary to carry out this 
Act.

                                  
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