Sweeney-Spratt Amendment
On June 8, the U.S. House of Representatives passed by an overwhelming 269-158 vote an amendment to the 2006 House Agriculture Appropriations Bill that would prohibit federal tax money from being used to slaughter horses, stopping the slaughter of horses in the US and their exportation for the purpose of slaughter for fiscal year 2006.

The amendment, introduced by Representatives John Sweeney (R-NY) and John Spratt (D-SC) together with their colleagues Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Ed Whitfield (R-KY) would prohibit the USDA to use tax money to inspect horse meat and horses shipped for slaughter abroad at the US border, forcing the only three horse slaughterhouses remaining in the US to shut down and effectively stopping the exportation of American horses for slaughter for next fiscal year.

USDA inspections are mandatory to allow horse meat to be sold and to permit live horses bound for slaughter abroad to cross the U.S. border. Without them, the horse slaughter plants cannot sell the meat abroad and killer buyers will not be able to transport horses for slaughter across the border, thus stopping not only the slaughter of American horses but also preventing them from being shipped to be slaughtered in foreign countries.

Since it amends an annual appropriations bill, the Sweeney-Spratt Amendment would only stop horse slaughter for a year, in which it will be necessary to pass H.R. 503, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, a self-standing bill that will ban permanently the slaughter of horses in the US an their exportation for their exportation for slaughter.

The passage of the Sweeney-Spratt Amendment is of critical importance since it would pave the way for the passage of H.R. 503, preventing more horses from being killed meanwhile.

"The facts and truth about the immense cruelty inflicted on America's horses won out last night, despite strong last-minute efforts by pro-horse slaughter organizations such as the American Veterinary Medical Association and American Quarter Horse Association to mislead Members of Congress," said actress Bo Derek, spokesperson for the National Horse Protection Coalition, of which the Society for Animal Protective Legislation (SAPL) and Doris Day Animal League are founding members.

"The vote on an amendment by Congressmen Sweeney, Spratt, Rahall and Whitfield is a huge victory on behalf of our campaign to end horse slaughter. These tremendous legislators, their incredible staff and all of those who voted in favor of ending horse slaughter showed us what good can come from the halls of Congress," said Chris Heyde, SAPL policy analyst.

"We always believed that if we could just bring this issue before the full Congress, we would prevail. The facts, and the American public, support an end to horse slaughter. Congress listened, and we are one step closer to making horse slaughter a thing of the past in this country. But Americans must continue to push Congress for a permanent ban," said Liz Ross, director of special projects for the Doris Day Animal League.

See the actual amendment, House Amendment 236 of H.R. 2744.

View final vote results.