[countryacres]

The Humane Society of the United States Rescues Horses after Hellish Journey to Slaughter and Back | The Humane Society of the United States

The Humane Society of the United States Rescues Horses after Hellish Journey to Slaughter and BackApril 4, 2007


CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Thirty horses bound for slaughter last week are safe today after The Humane Society of the United States halted their planned slaughter for human consumption and arranged their transfer to an animal sanctuary in Colorado.
The opportunity to save these horses came after The HSUS and other animal advocates won a court ruling last week closing down the last operational horse slaughter plant in the country. The horses' owner had planned to have the animals slaughtered and their meat exported for human consumption, but decided to contact The HSUS instead after learning of the court decision.
"These are the only horses on earth who have seen the inside of a horse slaughter plant and lived so that their story could be told," said Wayne Pacelle, HSUS president and CEO. "They have been through **** and back, stuffed into trailers, trucked for days, and led to the very brink of slaughter, only to be rescued at the last possible moment."
This group of horses was standing in line waiting to be slaughtered when news of the decision reached officials at Cavel International, which is located in DeKalb, Ill., and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which pulled its inspectors from the horse slaughter plant. While most horses, still waiting in trucks in the plant's parking lot, were promptly routed to slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada, these animals were reloaded onto a truck bound for a stockyard in Cheyenne, Wyo.
The HSUS agreed to pay the owners' expenses, and took possession of the horses in Cheyenne on Tuesday. The HSUS is partnering with the Denkai Animal Sanctuary in Carr, Colo. to rehabilitate the horses so they can eventually be placed with loving owners. Currently, they are being assessed by HSUS personnel and given necessary veterinary care in anticipation of their move to the sanctuary. The HSUS has set up a "Miracle Horse Fund" to accept donations for the ongoing care of these animals and other rescued horses.
Because the Congressional funding limitation barring the USDA inspections for horse slaughter expires in September, The HSUS is calling on Congress to pass the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503 and S. 311) to settle the matter permanently. This legislation will also prohibit the export of live horses to Canada and Mexico for slaughter.
Timeline:
March 29, 2007- A federal district court ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to stop inspecting horsemeat at the Cavel International slaughter plant, effectively closing the last operating horse slaughtering operation in the United States.
March 21, 2007 – A committee of the Illinois legislature approves legislation to ban horse slaughter by a vote of 8-4.
March 20, 2007 – The HSUS files a notice of intent to sue the Cavel horse slaughter house in DeKalb, Ill. for dozens of violations of the Clean Water Act.
February 14, 2007 – Legislation to ban the slaughter of American horses nationwide, S. 311 and H.R. 503, is introduced by Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.) and Reps. Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), John Spratt (D-S.C.) and Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.).
January 19, 2007 – U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upholds a 1949 Texas state law barring the sale of horsemeat for human consumption in that state. Appeals from the slaughter houses were rejected on March 5.
September 7, 2006 – U.S. House of Representatives passes H.R. 503, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, by a vote of 263-146. The 109th Congress adjourns before the Senate can consider the bill.
February 14, 2006 – The HSUS and other animal welfare groups and residents file suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging the USDA "fee-for-service" rule.
February 7, 2006 – USDA announces its intention to circumvent the Congressional funding limitation by implementing a "fee-for-service" rule to continue inspections of horsemeat.
November 10, 2005 – President Bush signs the Agriculture Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2006, including a funding limitation on horsemeat inspections. The horse slaughter provision is scheduled to take effect 120 days later.
Facts:

• According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 100,800 American horses were slaughtered in three foreign-owned slaughter houses in 2006. Another 30,000 were sent to Mexico or Canada for slaughter.
• The funding limitation on inspections for horse slaughter contained in the 2006 Appropriations Act carries over through September 30, 2007 because of a Continuing Resolution passed by Congress.
• The District Court barred USDA from inspecting horses for human consumption because USDA violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to conduct any review of the adverse impacts of horse slaughter on the surrounding communities before implementing a new rule to circumvent Congress' decision to de-fund inspection of horses for slaughter.

-30-

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization – backed by 10 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty -- On the web at www.humanesociety.org.

[Stormyheart6160]

I'm glad to hear that at least some of those horses were saved. I just wish all of them could of been.

I had been wondering what happened to those horses. Now I know.

Thanks for sharing that.

[pocahontas]

Here is a slide show of some of the horses.....sent to me.

No need to get 'er undies in a bunch, I'm not all hip or believable on HSUS,
just sharing, take it as what you may


HSUS Slideshow Presentation

[Stormyheart6160]

Pocahontas....it doesn't matter if it's HSUS, or someone else that rescued those horses. They are ALIVE and being cared for. That's what matters.

Thank You for showing that. Those sweet, innocent faces.......

Thank God, somebody got them!!!