WASHINGTON – Congressman Vern Buchanan and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today announced that they led a bipartisan group of 120 lawmakers calling for a permanent ban on the use of taxpayer dollars for the purpose of horse slaughter in the United States.
In their letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, the lawmakers asked for language to be included within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) budget permanently prohibiting tax dollars from being spent to inspect horse slaughter plants, preventing horsemeat from being processed in the United States for human consumption.
“The slaughter of horses for human consumption is a barbaric practice that has no place in our country,” said Congressman Buchanan. “As co-chair of the Animal Protection Caucus in Congress, I look forward to continuing to lead the effort with Congresswoman Schakowsky to protect these majestic creatures.”
Language similar to this popular and fiscally responsible policy has been enacted each year since Fiscal Year 2014, and for all but two years since 2005. This successfully led to a closure of all horse slaughter facilities in the United States. However, previous language did not make this provision permanent, requiring lawmakers to push for its inclusion in the government funding bill every year.
In addition to fiscal and humane concerns, meat from American horses is not fit for human consumption because equines are not treated as food animals in the United States and therefore are not maintained under the regulatory food safety requirements. Throughout their lives, horses routinely receive drugs and medications that are specifically banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in food animals due to their toxicity to humans.
"Horses have a special place in our nation's history and in many Americans' hearts. They embody the spirit of America, and it is time to end the brutal and dangerous practice of slaughtering these creatures for human consumption. As an animal enthusiast, I have championed this issue for many years,” said Congresswoman Schakowsky. “That is why I am co-leading a letter with Congressman Vern Buchanan in hopes of restricting the use of taxpayer funds for horse slaughter operations in the United States of America. Horses are not raised for human consumption. We owe it to our horse companions to protect their welfare."
“In 2012, more than 160,000 American horses were shipped abroad to slaughter for human consumption. There has been a consistent and dramatic decline in those numbers over the last decade: in 2023, 20,370 American horses were exported for this purpose – an almost 88% decrease,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter. They went on to say, “For these reasons, we respectfully urge you to include the following language in the Fiscal Year 2025 Agriculture appropriations bill to permanently prevent taxpayer dollars from being spent on the slaughter of American horses.”
This letter has the support of the Humane Society Legislative Fund, the Animal Welfare Institute and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).
“As Congress becomes more and more politically polarized, it is encouraging to see bipartisan consensus when it comes to the protection of animals,” said Tracie Letterman, Vice President of Federal Affairs for the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “With the last horse slaughter plant in the United States closing in 2007, Congress has continuously agreed that shutting down this predatory industry remains paramount in protecting our economy and loyal companions. The horse slaughter industry is inherently cruel, and its heinous acts begin the moment the horse is sold into the hands of the slaughterhouses. We appreciate Representatives Buchanan and Schakowsky for their leadership on this letter and urge the House Appropriations Committee to continue its commitment to protecting America’s horses.”
“We are grateful to Congressman Buchanan and Congresswoman Schakowsky for their continued leadership in protecting horses from being butchered domestically and abroad,” said Dr. Joanna Grossman, Equine Program Director and Senior Policy Advisor for the Animal Welfare Institute. “ The sheer number of lawmakers requesting a permanent ban on the slaughter of horses on U.S. soil should compel Congress to put an end to this inhumane practice. As Congress crafts critical appropriations bills for the next fiscal year, we trust that lawmakers will reflect the American public’s desire to protect horses by including language to permanently bar the operation of horse slaughter facilities in the United States.”
“Horse slaughter is an inherently cruel, unnecessary practice that is opposed by more than 80 percent of Americans,” said Nancy Perry, Senior Vice President of Government Relations for the ASPCA. “We’re grateful to Representatives Buchanan and Schakowsky for their leadership on the longstanding funding restriction that has prevented the cruel horse slaughter industry from operating in the United States, and as Congress finalizes the Fiscal Year 2025 Agriculture Appropriations Bill, we urge them to continue this restriction on the use of taxpayer funds for horse slaughter operations.”
Buchanan, who co-chairs the Animal Protection Caucus in Congress, is a leading advocate for protecting endangered species and ending animal cruelty, introducing and co-sponsoring dozens of important animal measures. Most recently, he introduced the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act to permanently ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption and prohibit the export of live horses to Mexican and Canadian slaughterhouses to be sold overseas. In 2019, Buchanan’s legislation, the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, was signed into law, which banned extreme forms of animal cruelty and torture. The PACT Act was the nation’s first federal animal cruelty law.
Read the full letter HERE or below:
May 1, 2024
Dear Chairman Harris and Ranking Member Bishop:
As you craft the Fiscal Year 2025 Agriculture appropriations bill, we write in strong support for a permanent restriction on the use of taxpayer funds for horse slaughter operations in the United States. Specifically, we ask that language be included for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS) budget prohibiting tax dollars from being spent to inspect horse slaughter plants with the notation that the current annual prohibition should continue “hereafter,” thereby permanently preventing horsemeat from being processed in the United States for human consumption. This overwhelmingly popular and fiscally responsible policy has been enacted for each year since Fiscal Year 2014 and for all but two years since 2005. Horse slaughter is an inherently cruel practice that 83% of Americans want to see permanently banned.
In 2012, more than 160,000 American horses were shipped abroad to slaughter for human consumption. There has been a consistent and dramatic decline in those numbers over the last decade: in 2023, 20,370 American horses were exported for this purpose – an almost 88% decrease.
Beyond fiscal and humane concerns, flesh from American horses is not fit for human consumption because equines are not treated as food animals in the United States and therefore are not maintained under the regulatory food safety requirements for animals raised for human consumption. Throughout their lives, horses routinely receive drugs and medications that are specifically banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in food animals due to their toxicity to humans.
For these reasons, we respectfully urge you to include the following language in the Fiscal Year 2025 Agriculture appropriations bill to permanently prevent taxpayer dollars from being spent on the slaughter of American horses:
None of the funds made available by this Act, or any other Act in this fiscal year or any fiscal year hereafter, may be used to pay the salaries or expenses of any person or personnel — (1) to inspect horses under section 3 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 603); (2) to inspect horses under section 903 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 1901 note; Public Law 104–127); or (3) to implement or enforce section 352.19 of title 9, Code of Federal Regulations, or any other regulation concerning the inspection of slaughter horses.
Sincerely,
