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California Voters "Just Say Neigh" to Horse Slaughter!
HoofPAC
Shop online at IGive.com with over 400 great stores you know & love- including Back In the Saddle! Up to 26% of the purchase price is donated to the EPN!
The EPN gets $5 extra the first time you shop!
PayPal accepts credit cards! Please send your tax deductible donation to the:Equine Protection Network, Inc.,
P. O. Box 232, Friedensburg, PA, 17933.
HoofPAC is the political action committee that has been formed to end the slaughter of America's horses. Cathleen Doyle, founder of HoofPAC, led the successful Save The Horses campaign in 1998 that made the slaughter of California's horses a felony.
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Pennsylvania is home to the largest weekly horse auction east of the Mississippi averaging close to 200 horses per week with a large number of horses purchased by agents for foreign owned horse slaughterhouses located in Canada and Texas. "Killer buyers" also frequent several other sales held on a weekly or monthly basis in PA. Horse dealers from all over the United States bring horses to these sales, often without the health papers that are required by law.
Pennsylvania is not the only state with "killer" auctions. Indiana is home to the sale in Shipshewanna. Ohio is home to the auction in Sugarcreek. Kentucky is home to sale in Shepherdsville. Arizona is home to the Cottonwood auction. New York State has an auction in Unadilla. Massachusetts is home to the sale in Agawam.
The horses purchased by the "killer buyers" are slaughtered for human consumption overseas in Europe and Japan. Horses purchased for slaughter are often transported in trailers designed to transport cattle and hogs. Trailers designed for cattle and hogs do not meet equine industry standards for vehicles used to transport horses. This, in conjunction with overcrowding and a lack of segregation often cause injury and even death to the horses being transported. The lack of food, water and rest contribute to the arduous journey, making it especially inhumane for blind, sick, injured, and/or the very young and the very old.
Enforcement is needed at the point of loading to effectively end this cruel and inhumane transport. Passage of Act 64, PA's Horse Transport Law will go a long way toward stopping this cruel transport. Now we need your help more than ever.
Keep your eyes open for double deck trailers. Look inside to see if there are horses inside. If there are horses inside, write down the license plate of the trailer, description of truck, road that truck is on & direction travelling. If you have a camera, photograph the truck, license plate & horses inside. Call the police. The violation is Title 18, 5511,e.1. Act 64 of 2001.
Blind, sick, and injured horses should not be forced to endure more suffering so their owner can put a few dollars in their pocket and destroy the evidence of their neglect and irresponsibility. Irresponsible breeders should not profit from their lack of responsibility by sending a pregnant mare, or foal to slaughter.
The EPN is a proud supporter of HoofPAC!
To All Concerned Parties
The horse is part of American heritage, having played a major role in our historical growth and development. Post industrial revolution, the number of horses has surprisingly increased contributing significantly to the enjoyment of generations of recreation enthusiasts in America.
Generations ago, our forefathers designated the horse a "favored" animal which means they are not bred or raised for food, not eaten in our culture, commonly given a name and accordingly are taxed differently than traditional food animals.
However over 3 million American recreational horses have been secretly purchased and slaughtered for the foreign markets in the last two decades. And because of the lack of disclosure on the part of the agents for the foreign owned horsemeat industry, people's horses can and have been stolen and their pets purchased under false pretenses. This practice has contributed to crime and consumer fraud.
In the United States there are currently only two horse slaughter plants left in operation, both foreign-owned, both in Texas. Accordingly, horses bound for these slaughter plants have been hauled several thousand miles over several days, contrary to existing national and international conventional standards for water, food and rest for commercial equine transportation. Horses are also transported in trailers designed for cattle and hogs rather than horses and do not meet existing commercial equine industry standards resulting in pain, suffering, injury and deaths.
The horse slaughter plants use methods of slaughter that are not rated "Acceptable" for horses in the Report of the American Veterinary Medical Association's Panel on Euthanasia (2000). Humane euthanasia by lethal injection administered by a veterinarian is preferred to slaughter.
Because horses in America are not raised for food or fiber, veterinarians commonly prescribe and treat horses with antibiotics, performance enhancing drugs, hormones, neutraceuticals and other over-the-counter equine products which the Food and Drug Administration has not tested or approved for use in animals raised for food and accordingly are labeled, "NOT TO BE USED ON HORSES INTENDED FOR USE AS FOOD." The lack of FDA approval creates a potential food safety problem.
Would America exist today if it were not for "Brown Beauty", the valiant and noble mare who made history when she tirelessly carried Paul Revere on her back for his famous midnight ride? The entire culture of this country would be profoundly different were it not for the horse.
As Americans we cannot passively sit back and allow our noble horse to become a casualty of free trade. Any commerce is not good commerce and there should be cultural restraints. Horse slaughter is an affront to our heritage and culture.
Save America's Horses! |
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Please send your tax deductible donation to: Equine Protection Network, Inc., P. O. Box 232, Friedensburg, PA, 17933 |
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Save America's Horses- Make the Commitment to Your Horse! |
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