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From: TSS ()
THERE is more than one way to NOT skin a horse for human consumption, check out the countries that import USA horse, asses, mules and hinnies. ...TSS U.S. Domestic Exports: 2006 and 2006 Year-to-Date, not Seasonally Adjusted (FAS Value, in Thousands of Dollars) Consuming horsemeat is uncommon among Americans but remains an accepted practice overseas, creating a small market for three U.S.-based horse-slaughter plants. Reps. John Sweeney (R-N.Y.) and Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) have secured a promise from GOP leaders for a Thursday vote on their plan to close those plants and halt government-sanctioned horse killing. But the bill has run into a surprising amount of opposition in a culture built on pony rides and cowboy movies. Former Rep. Charlie Stenholm (D-Texas), now lobbying for a coalition of farm and veterinary groups seeking to bring down the bill, questioned why a bill banning horse slaughter merits floor time on one of the few legislative days remaining in the House’s crowded September session. “A large number of members are surprised it’s coming to a vote,” Stenholm contended last week. But the bill has broad support. Sweeney and Whitfield have joined with Democrats to round up more than 200 cosponsors after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) sidestepped their amendment last year aimed at blocking funding for the slaughter plants. Both factions have spent the August recess countering each other’s talking points, but the anti-slaughter contingent will benefit from an infusion of star power this week as actress Bo Derek, country legend Willie Nelson and Texas oil magnate T. Boone Pickens step up their promotion of the bill. Derek, Pickens and Nelson’s daughter are slated to appear at public rallies today. “We’re making an all-out push,” Whitfield said in an interview. He acknowledged the strong opposition of Agriculture Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), who reported the bill unfavorably, but noted that the floor vote “demonstrate[s] that House leadership is willing to go against committee chairmen to bring a bill up that has never had an opportunity to see the light of day.” In addition to Stenholm, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Farmers Union and a host of state commodity groups have mobilized against the slaughter ban. The need to shelter and feed horses otherwise destined for processing would present an unnecessary fiscal burden, they argue, and horse owners who rely on government-inspected plants as a humane disposal method would be forced to resort to more cruel solutions if the bill passes. “The problem comes in when the actual legislation isn’t given consideration aside from the emotional aspect,” said Goodlatte spokeswoman Alise Kowalski. “It doesn’t address the welfare of horses if they can’t be disposed of. This argument really is not about killing horses, it’s about what happens to horses after they are slaughtered.” If a horse could be used for riding, farming or any other activity, “you would be selling it for a whole lot more than $200 to $300” to a slaughter plant, said Brent Gattis, a former Agriculture Committee deputy chief of staff who is lobbying against the measure alongside Stenholm. Gattis also pointed to the bill as a possible precedent for banning slaughter of veal calves and other livestock, pointing to the role of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and other controversial animal-activist groups. But Chris Heyde, a Republican lobbyist for the Society for Animal Protection Legislation, noted that PETA has taken no position on the bill and scoffed at Stenholm’s argument that Congress should not legislate the morals of foreign horse-eating nations. “That’s a hoot … to say, ‘Who are we to tell other cultures what they can and can’t do?’” Heyde said. “We’ve got a lot of hardworking Americans sitting in Iraq right now. Drugs and prostitution are legal in other parts of the world.” The emotional and politically charged lobbying has spilled onto the Internet, where both sides have set up websites: pro-slaughter commonhorsesense.com and anti-slaughter justsaywhoa.com. The pro-slaughter team’s site was hacked just before July’s Agriculture and Energy and Commerce Committee hearings on the bill, Stenholm said, directing visitors to anti-slaughter home pages. Stenholm’s status as the Agriculture panel’s retired ranking member has made him a magnet for criticism from anti-slaughter lobbyists, who see him as aligned with Goodlatte. “I think he’s just yukking it up over there with his old friends at the committee,” said one K Street Republican backing the bill, decrying exaggerated claims that the ban would leave “unwanted horses … running around the streets like cows in Calcutta.” Agricultural industry opponents of the bill also have been contacting members during recess in a bid to convince enough cosponsors to defeat the bill. They believe they need to convince 52 supporters to vote against it, based on last year’s appropriations vote. Yet Sweeney Deputy Chief of Staff Melissa Carlson said the USDA regulation that resulted from that legislative effort ended up bolstering the bill’s prospects, helping Sweeney convince GOP leaders that the department had achieved “an end run around Congress” and that the slaughter ban deserved a vote. Sweeney, an appropriator, ultimately voted against that agriculture appropriations bill in protest of how the USDA was going to implement his amendment. Another famous horse-lover, Kinky Friedman, the freewheeling singer and novelist turned independent gubernatorial candidate in Texas, said he is watching the bill’s progress with interest. “If they can do it, it’s going to be great,” Friedman said of the slaughter ban’s congressional backers. “I’ve got a lot more faith in what Texans can do.” In fact, if the bill fails, Friedman plans to mount a vigorous state-level lobbying campaign to close the Lone Star State’s two horse-slaughter plants. Friedman has already enlisted three powerful allies in Nelson, Oscar-winning actor Robert Duvall and TV star Larry Hagman, a coalition he dubbed the “Four Horsemen of Texas.” “[The bill’s opponents’] motto is ‘from the stable to the table.’ Our motto is, ‘save a horse, ride a cowboy,’” Friedman quipped. http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/Business/090506.html SUPPORT THE AMERICAN HORSE SLAUGHTER PREVENTION ACT Dear Senator: After five years of increasing public demand for an end to horse slaughter, you have an immediate opportunity to end this cruel practice. Veterinarian and Senator John Ensign (R-NV) and Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) have introduced S. 1915 to prevent the slaughter of horses for human consumption abroad. We ask you to support this bill, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. In August, a bipartisan House of Representatives voted overwhelming in favor (263-146) of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. This wide margin strongly reflects the will of the American people, despite last minute efforts by pro-horse slaughter organizations, who profit from this cruel industry, to derail the political process. Horses have always been a symbol of America’s free spirit. No other animal stirs such an emotional reaction. They have carried our leaders into battles, pulled our wagons into the untamed West, and thrilled us through sport. In fact, horses such as Secretariat, Man O’ War and Citation are considered among the top 100 athletes of the 20th century. The famous story of Seabiscuit, a once “unwanted horse” turned great champion, was recently considered for an Oscar. Yet regardless of their fame and notoriety, no animal should be hauled across the country under the unhealthy and cruel conditions slaughterbound horses face. Following their faithful service to humankind, our horses should not be killed at one of the three foreign-owned slaughterhouses in the United States so diners abroad can feast on their flesh. We strongly support the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act and have rejected arguments from those who claim ending horse slaughter will be bad for horses. Don’t be misled; ending horse slaughter will be nothing but good for horses, and we are confident that once you consider the facts, you will agree. We urge you to follow the recent vote by your colleagues in the House, as well as the outstanding leadership of Senator John Ensign and Senator Mary Landrieu on this issue, and to support the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, S. 1915. It’s not only about saving the lives of thousands of innocent horses; it’s about a better America. On behalf of my friends, I thank you for your urgent consideration of the effort to end horse slaughter. Sincerely, http://www.saplonline.org/willieletter.htm MARCH 26, 2003 RE-Monitoring the occurrence of emerging forms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the United States http://www.neurology.org/cgi/eletters/60/2/176#535 Singeltary, Sr et al. JAMA.2001; 285: 733-734. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/285/6/733?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=dignosing+and+reporting+creutzfeldt+jakob+disease&searchid=1048865596978_1528&stored_search=&FIRSTINDEX=0&journalcode=jama [Docket No. 03-025IFA] FSIS Prohibition of the Use of Specified Risk http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/Comments/03-025IFA/03-025IFA-2.pdf TSS
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