This is our last chance to speak out to protect our wild horses!! The Senate Appropriations Committee will be marking up their version of the Interior bill. Right now, an amendment in the House version of the bill allows for HEALTHY wild horses and burros to be killed by BLM or their contractors. The Interior bill also contains language that allows the transfer of wild horses and burros to other government agencies, and when they are transferred they lose their status as wild horses and burros, opening up the door to being sold for slaughter. The Senate Committee could be meeting as early as this week, so it's important to contact them ASAP. Contact information is below. Without our input, our horses WILL be destroyed by the government and they WILL be transferred to agencies that will send them to slaughter.
![]() FINALLY, some good news!! The Senate Appropriations Committee passed the Udall-Graham (Coons-Feinstein-Reed-Collins-Shaheen) Amendment which would prevent the USDA from funding horse slaughterhouse inspections. Similar language did not pass by a vote of 25-27 in the House Appropriations Committee. What this means is the Senate and the House now have to work together to reconcile the two bills (one from the House and one from the Senate). So now is the time to contact both your Congressman/woman and your Senators and let them know you support language in the Agricultural Bill that does not fund horsemeat inspection, which would pave the way to open horse slaughterhouses in the US. Since Congress takes a recess in August, please contact your representatives at their home offices. There's still work to do, and we can't let up just yet, but this shows that we need to keep reaching out to our legislators to let them know we don't support horse slaughter in the US. ![]() CALL!!! FAX!!!! TWEET!!!! EMAIL!!!! DO IT NOW!!!!!! An amendment introduced by Rep. Chris Stewart (UT-02) passed in the House Interior Appropriations bill removing the language that prevents funds to be used "for the destruction of healthy, unadopted, wild horses and burros in the care of the Bureau of it's contractors." The fact that the amendment added that funds could not be used "for the sale of wild horses and burros that results in their destruction for processing into commercial products INCLUDING FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION." is of little consolation for all of the horses and burros in holding and out on the range that will now be subject to destruction by the government. What this means is the government can shoot all of the horses as they round them up for any reason. There ARE alternatives, but this HAS to be defeated before real solutions can be explored. BLM has mismanaged the Wild Hores and Burro program, creating a "crisis" situation, and their goal is total eradication of our mustangs and burros in the wild. It's time to call your Senators as they will be voting on this issue next week. Please call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and an operator will connect you directly with your senators. Let them know you do NOT support the destruction of America's wild horses and burros in government holding or on the range (public lands), or the removal of their wild horse and burro status when transferred to other agencies. Also ask them to support the Udall-Graham amendment preventing the funding of USDA horsemeat inspections. Time is of the essence, and if we don't speak out now, America's horses, both wild and domestic, are in peril of going to slaughter right here on US soil. We can't let this happen!! ![]() UPDATE from the July 12th House Appropriations Interior Committee Meeting: The language that would have allowed BLM to destroy any and all wild horses and burros in holding and on the range was NOT included in the House Appropriations Bill. However, there is still language in the bill that allows the transfer of wild horses and burros to any government agency upon request, and upon transfer they lose their status (protections) under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (see text below). “SEC. 114. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Interior may transfer excess wild horses or burros that have been removed from the public lands to other Federal, State, and local government agencies for use as work animals: Provided, That the Secretary may make any such transfer immediately upon request of such Federal, State, or local government agency: Provided further, That any excess animal transferred under this provision shall lose its status as a wild free-roaming horse or burro as defined in the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act: Provided further, That any Federal, State, or local government agency receiving excess wild horses or burros as authorized in this section shall not: destroy the horses or burros in a way that results in their destruction into commercial products; sell or otherwise transfer the horses or burros in a way that results in their destruction for processing into commercial products; or euthanize the horses or burros except upon the recommendation of a licensed veterinarian, in cases of severe injury, illness, or advanced age.” Unfortunately we know that this is a way for agencies that are anti-wild horse and burro to back-door them to slaughter. Because the reality is, if they lose their status as a wild free-roaming horse or burro, there are no protections, however minimal, for them. And we also know that there is no accountability for what happens once the horses and burros leave BLM. This bill will go before the full House Appropriations Committee TUESDAY, JULY 18th. It’s quite possible that an amendment to this bill will be presented to reintroduce the language allowing BLM to destroy all horses and burros “. . . for which an adoption demand by qualified individuals does not exist to be destroyed in the most humane and cost efficient manner possible”. That would mean that every single one of America’s wild horses and burros are in danger of being shot, or sold for the purpose of slaughter! We cannot underestimate the determination of those who would like to see the destruction of all wild horses and burros in holding and on the range. PLEASE contact your Congressman NOW. Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your representative. To find out if your representative is a member of the Appropriations Committee, click here. https://appropriations.house.gov/about/members/ If your representative is a member of the Appropriations Committee, it’s especially important that you contact them. Tell them to oppose any amendments to the Interior Appropriations Bill on TUESDAY, JULY 18th that would allow for the destruction of wild horses and burros in holding or on the range, and to maintain wild free-roaming horse or burro status for animals transferred to other agencies. If your congressman is not on the Appropriations Committee, it’s still important to contact them. Tell them that you, along with 80% of Americans do not support horse slaughter, or the destruction of healthy wild horses and burros in government facilities or on the range. Tell them to oppose any 2018 Budget language that would allow this to happen. Let them know that you support alternative management strategies for our wild horses and burros, and these strategies must be pursued to resolve the crisis created by decades of mismanagement of the Wild Horse and Burro program. |
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