WASHINGTON – Today, Reps. Vern Buchanan and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), co-chairs of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, led a letter calling for a report into the potential maltreatment and poor living conditions of horses at Arlington National Cemetery. The death of two horses within days of one another led to the suspension of horse-drawn funeral procession for our nation’s fallen soldiers.
“The abysmal living conditions and maltreatment of these horses, which has led to numerus deaths as well as the suspension of this program meant to honor our fallen service members, is extremely disappointing and concerning,” said Congressman Buchanan. “That is why I am calling for a report to investigate any wrongdoing as well as to help identify ways to protect these horses and restore this important program moving forward.”
In 2022, two horses, Mickey and Tony, from the 3rd Infantry Regiment’s Caisson Platoon at the Arlington National Cemetery passed away within days of each other from colon impaction. It was later reported that these horses potentially died due to poor living conditions, including limited-size fields full of manure, construction debris, low-quality hay and an infestation of parasites.
Furthermore, the Army reported that the horses had very little grass in the field where they lived, causing many to consume sand and gravel which eventually caused the deaths of the two horses. In fact, one horse that passed away was found to have 44 pounds of gravel and sand in his gut. Separate testing conducted found that nearly 35 percent of the horses had “moderate-high” levels of parasite eggs in their stool.
Unfortunately, prior to the two deaths within the platoon, these horses were consistently used to escort the caskets of fallen service-members on a wagon to their final resting place.
As a result, Arlington National Cemetery is now using motor vehicles with no plan or date to resume using the horses.
Joining Buchanan and Blumenauer on the letter were Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Dina Titus (D-NV), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and André Carson (D-IN).
“Given the honorable, selfless service of those who are being laid to rest at the Arlington National Cemetery, we must ensure that they receive a proper, honorable burial,” said the lawmakers in the letter. “We must also ensure the horses who have worked tirelessly to provide for these brave service members are taken care of in a humane manner.”
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 letter here or below:
Dear Comptroller General Dodaro,
We write to request a Government Accountability Office (GAO) review of the Army’s maltreatment of the Arlington National Cemetery’s Caisson Platoon horses, which led to a suspension of horse-drawn funeral processions and the deaths of two horses. We also ask to include a study into how the Army can resume the program, ensuring that the horses are properly cared for and continuing honoring those who bravely served our country.
Unfortunately, in February 2022, two horses, Mickey and Tony, that belong to the 3rd Infantry Regiment, had to be euthanized within days of each other due to colon impaction. This led to an immediate suspension of all horse processions, which is still in place.
After conducting an investigation, the Army reported that the horses had very little grass in the field in which they lived, forcing many to consume sand and gravel. In fact, one of the horses that was euthanized was found to have had 44 pounds of gravel and sand in his gut, which likely caused his death. Separate testing found that nearly 35% of the horses has “moderate-high” levels of parasite eggs in their stool.
Furthermore, the field was covered in construction debris and manure, with only enough room to support six to seven horses. This was nowhere near enough to support the 64 horses within the field.
After the suspension of this program, 18 out of the 64 horses had to be retired leading to a shortage in the number of horses required to conduct the six to eight eligible burials per day. Since then, the Army has been using funeral home hearses and other vehicles.
Given the honorable, selfless service of those who are being laid to rest at the Arlington National Cemetery, we must ensure that they receive a proper, honorable burial. We must also ensure the horses who have worked tirelessly to provide for these brave service members are taken care of in a humane manner.
Therefore, we would like the GAO to conduct a study that addresses the following issues.
- What steps has the Army taken to examine and improve the factors that contributed to the deaths of Mickey and Tony?
- What facility and trainers should be in place where the horses reside when not participating as part of the caisson?
- What training programs can be established for soldiers to properly care for the horses when part of the processions?
- How long should the horses participate in the platoon before retiring?
We look forward to working with you through this review.
Sincerely,
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