New Bill to Protect Horses Introduced

A new bill has been introduced in the House to ban horse slaughter for human consumption, HR 6598. This version is different from HR 503 and the text of the bill is below, so you can read and make up your own mind. 6598 is an excellent alternative to HR 503, which is stalled in the House Committee on Agriculture.

6598 states clearly that horse slaughter is inhumane, something that welfare advocates and the public who have taken time to know the issue know only too well. Horse slaughter is a brutal and cruel process from the beginning to the end. In auction houses the horses who are destined for slaughter are jammed together in overcrowded pens. Kill-buyers, who obtain and transport the horses to slaughter, are just out to fill a quota and transport the horses without food, water or rest for days. Treating the unlucky horses as if they are already dead. The treatment and killing of the horses in slaughter plants is so horrific that people have become physically ill watching the process.

At this time there are only 12 cosponsors plus the sponsor for a total of 13. Some people believe that we need hundreds of cosponsors for a bill to pass, that isn't true. A bill can pass with little or no cosponsors. What is most important is the votes a bill gets on the floor. However, we need to have as many cosponsors as possible to move the bill forward. Since the bill is similar in goal to HR 503, gaining cosponsors should be fairly easy. Just contact your Congressperson and ask them to support HR 6598. If you don't know who your Congressional Representative is you can go to www.house.gov and enter your zip code to find out.

The issue with this bill is time. We have VERY limited time to get this through the House and Senate and signed by the President before the current session of Congress ends.

The bill HR 6598 has a hearing scheduled in the House Judiciary Committee, sub-committee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security on July 31, 2008 at 9:30 am. You can call or fax the members of the committee and ask them to support the bill. Their contact information is below.

Please don't forget to contact your Congressperson and ask him/her to support the bill, HR 6598.

110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6598

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit certain conduct relating to the use of horses for human consumption.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of
2008'.

SEC. 2. SLAUGHTER OF HORSES FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.

(a) In General- Chapter 3 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:

`Sec. 50. Slaughter of horses for human consumption

`(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), whoever knowingly--
`(1) possesses, ships, transports, purchases, sells,
delivers, or receives, in or affecting interstate commerce
or foreign commerce, any horse with the intent that it is to
be slaughtered for human consumption; or
`(2) possesses, ships, transports, purchases, sells,
delivers, or receives, in or affecting interstate commerce
or foreign commerce, any horse flesh or carcass or part of a
carcass, with the intent that it is to be used for human
consumption;
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three
years or both.
`(b) If--
`(1) the defendant engages in conduct that would otherwise
constitute an offense under subsection (a);
`(2) the defendant has no prior conviction under this
section; and
`(3) the conduct involves less than five horses or less than
2000 pounds of horse flesh or carcass or part of a carcass;
the defendant shall, instead of being punished under that
subsection, be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than
one year, or both.
`(c) The Attorney General shall provide for the humane placement
or other humane disposition of any horse seized in connection with
an offense under this section.
`(d) As used in this section, the term `horse' means any member of
the family Equidae.'.
(b) Clerical Amendment- The table of sections for chapter 3 of
title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following new item:
`50. Slaughter of horses for human consumption.'

Committee Member Phone Fax Cosponsor HR 503

Chair: John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) 202-225-5126 202-225-0072 YES YES
Rank: Lamar Smith (R-TX) 202-225-4236 202-225-8628 NO NO

Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) 202-225-2906 202-225-6942 NO YES
Howard L. Berman (D-CA) 202-225-4695 202-225-3196 NO YES
Rick Boucher (D-VA) 202-225-3861 202-225-0442 NO YES
Chris Cannon (R-UT) 202-225-7751 202-225-5629 NO NO
Steve Chabot (R-OH) 202-225-2216 202-225-3012 YES NO
Howard Coble (R-NC) 202-225-3065 202-225-8611 NO NO
Steve Ira Cohen (D-TN) 202-225-3265 202-225-5663 NO YES
Artur Davis (D-AL) 202-225-2665 202-226-9567 NO NO
Bill Delahunt (D-MA) 202-225-3111 202-225-5658 NO YES
Keith Ellison (D-MN) 202-225-4755 202-225-4886 NO YES
Tom Feeney (R-FL) 202-225-2706 202-226-6299 NO NO
J. Randy Forbes (R-VA) 202-225-6365 202-226-1170 NO NO
Trent Franks (R-AZ) 202-225-4576 202-225-6328 NO NO
Elton Gallegly (R-CA) 202-225-5811 202-225-1100 NO YES
Louie Gohmert (R-TX) 202-225-3035 202-226-1230 NO NO
Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) 202-225-5431 202-225-9681 NO NO
Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) 202-225-8203 202-225-7810 NO YES
Darrell Issa (R-CA) 202-225-3906 202-225-3303 NO NO
Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) 202-225-3816 202-225-3317 NO YES
Hank Johnson (D-GA) 202-225-1605 202-226-0691 NO YES
Jim Jordan (R-OH) 202-225-2676 202-226-0577 NO NO
Ric Keller (R-FL) 202-225-2176 202-225-0999 NO YES
Steve King (R-IA) 202-225-4426 202-225-3193 NO NO
Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) 202-225-3072 202-225-3336 NO YES
Dan Lungren (R-CA) 202-225-5716 202-226-1298 NO NO
Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) 202-225-5635 202-225-6923 YES NO
Mike Pence (R-IN) 202-225-3021 202-225-3382 NO NO
Linda T. Sanchez (D-CA) 202-225-6676 202-226-1012 NO NO
Adam Schiff (D-CA) 202-225-4176 202-225-5828 NO YES
Robert C. Scott (D-VA) 202-225-8351 202-225-8354 YES NO
F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI) 202-225-5101 202-225-3190 NO NO
Brad Sherman (D-CA) 202-225-5911 202-225-5879 NO YES
Betty Sutton (D-OH) 202-225-3401 202-225-2266 YES NO
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) 202-225-7931 202-226-2052 YES NO
Maxine Waters (D-CA) 202-225-2201 202-225-7854 NO YES
Melvin L. Watt (D-NC) 202-225-1510 202-225-1512 NO YES
Anthony Weiner (D-NY) 202-225-6616 202-226-7253 NO YES
Robert Wexler (D-FL) 202-225-3001 202-225-5974 NO YES