Wild Free-Roaming Horses And Burros Sale And Slaughter Prohibition

Floor Speech

WILD FREE-ROAMING HORSES AND BURROS SALE AND SLAUGHTER PROHIBITION -- (House of Representatives - April 26, 2007)

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Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 249, which will ``Restore the Prohibition on the Commercial Sale and Slaughter of Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros.'' I am sure my colleagues would agree that horses are as American as apple pie, and a symbol of our great Nation. From the time of great explorers like Lewis and Clark to the present day celebration at Churchill Downs, horses have been an intricate part of our society. To their owners, they are companions, for law enforcement officials they are colleagues, but to the American people they have never served as a source of food.

Last year, I stood on this floor in support of H.R. 503, American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. That act sought to prohibit the horrendous practice of domestic horse slaughter for consumption. At the time I spoke out against the appalling practices of this industry that tend to fly under the radar. Horses are forced to travel across our borders for more than 24 hours without rest, water or food in trailers that provide little protection from the elements. Many horses--sick, lame, pregnant or blind--are in distress even before being loaded.

Once at the slaughterhouse, the suffering gets worse. Horses are left for long periods in tightly packed trailers, subjected to further extremes of heat and cold. In hot weather, thirst is acute. Downed animals are unable to rise. All the horses are moved off forcibly when it's time to unload and hurried through the facility into the kill box. In the face of these deplorable conditions, including overcrowding, deafening noise, and the smell of blood, the horses typically become desperate, exhibiting fear typical of ``flight'' behavior--pacing in prance-like movements with their ears pinned back against their heads and eyes wide open.

Despite the Federal mandate that horses be rendered unconscious before being put to death, many horses are killed alive by repeated blows to the head with captive bolt pistols. While writhing in pain, the coup de grace is administered by a slit of the throat. The dead animal is then processed for shipment overseas and destined for a foreign dining table.

Mr. Chairman, I support H.R. 249 because it extends protection to wild free-roaming horses and burros. This legislation closes the final loophole that jobbers--the middlemen for slaughterhouses--can use. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 249.

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