Wild Horses Win Again in US House of Representatives

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 26, 2007) – The US House of Representatives today resoundingly reaffirmed what it originally declared in 1971 – America’s wild, free-roaming horses and burros must be protected from commercial exploitation and the cruel slaughter industry. In a tremendous victory on behalf of all horses, the House passed H.R. 249 with a vote of 277 to 136, restoring the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and burros.

“Today, our elected representatives have listened to the truth about wild horses,” said Chris Heyde, deputy legislative director of the Society for Animal Protective Legislation. “Despite the enormous amount of misinformation being spread by pro-horse slaughter individuals, the facts remain clear: wild horses are not to blame for rangeland destruction, and they are not starving to death.”

In late 2004, a rider stripping away the original Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act’s decades-old protections was adopted without public awareness or Congressional oversight. Passage of H.R. 249, reintroduced in the 110th Congress by House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV), effectively stops the Bureau of Land Management from implementing this reprehensible measure.

“We knew the House of Representatives would continue to listen to the will of the American people, and now they must put a permanent end to horse slaughter for human consumption,” Heyde said. “There are far too few of these national treasures. They deserve to live free on our public lands, and we must ensure their future welfare.”

With the will of the people being heard in the Halls of Congress, the House and Senate is poised to take the next step in finally ending the inhumane practice of horse slaughter. The public must demand passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503 and S. 311) – the only bills to permanently ban all horse slaughter for human consumption – by calling on their Members of Congress to act immediately.

The Society for Animal Protective Legislation, the Animal Welfare Institute's legislative arm, is the unsurpassed leader in obtaining laws to benefit animals in need, including the protection of domestic and wild horses.
(Press Release)