Congress to vote before June 30th!!

[diamondindykin]

House of Representatives to Vote on a
Permanent End to Horse Slaughter!
The American public must be heard like never before!

June 22, 2006


Dear Humanitarian:

Since the Society for Animal Protective Legislation’s national campaign against horse slaughter began in 2001, our ultimate goal has been passage of a permanent horse slaughter ban. We have just learned House of Representatives Leadership has assured the sponsors of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act that a vote on the measure will take place on the House floor before June 30.

Sponsored in the House by Congressional Horse Caucus Co-chair John Sweeney (R-NY), Representative John Spratt, Jr. (D-SC) and Representative Ed Whitfield (R-KY), the Act will end the slaughter of horses for human consumption and the domestic and international transport of live horses or horseflesh for the same purpose. Just last year, over 90,000 horses were slaughtered in the three foreign-owned horse slaughter facilities located in Texas and Illinois.

We have always believed that, if given a fair chance and an open vote, Congress would support this complete ban. Four separate times, it has demonstrated interest in stopping horse slaughter for wild and domestic horses by voting in favor of amendments. The upcoming vote is crucial, and it represents a culmination of five years of hard work by supporters from across the United States. It is vital for everyone you know to call their Representative immediately and urge a “YES” vote for the Act.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Please call or fax your Representative TODAY, asking him or her to vote in favor of H.R. 503, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. Keep checking your email every day for the latest news, and continue to contact your Representative until the vote has transpired.

When talking with your Representative's office please include some of the additional facts about horse slaughter listed below.

To locate your Representative’s contact information and to learn more about horse slaughter and the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act please visit www.saplonline.org/horses.htm.

Please share our “Dear Humanitarian” eAlert with family, friends and co-workers, and encourage them to call or fax their Members of Congress, too. Thank you very much for your help!

Sincerely,
Cathy Liss
Legislative Director

Sign up for SAPL eAlerts to receive the latest legislative news on what you can do to help us protect all animals. www.saplonline.org/action.htm

[schwung]

This is very important guys...let's all make the call!

[safehorses]

I'm using my lunch hour to call the California delegation and then follow it up with an email.

The only bummer about Randy "Duke" Cunningham's fall from grace is that he was a supporter of the AHSPA and I have no idea if his successor is or not.

[pdevlieg]

CONGRESS VOTES ANY DAY ON HR 503 - AN ANTI-SLAUGHTER BILL

HR 503 Reads 'To amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption, and for other purposes. '
Bill # H.R.503"

To see full text go to
www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/bills/?billtype=H.R.&billnumb=503&congress=109

Thanks everyone!

[pdevlieg]

The time has finally come for the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (HR 503, S 1915) to be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives! Sometime in the next few days, the House will vote on HR 503, a bill that bans the inhumane practice of horse slaughter in the United States. THIS VOTE IS CRITICAL. PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS ALERT FAR AND WIDE.

Contact your federal Representative today by calling the Capitol Switchboard and providing your zip code: [phone]. Ask them to support HR 503, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. After calling, take a moment and send an email or fax. You can find and email your Representative online through www.house.gov.

Please remind your Representative that:

1. Americans regard their horses as pets and companions, and we do not eat horses in this country.

2. Horse slaughter is NOT humane euthanasia.

3. America’s wild horses are also being slaughtered. These living symbols of our nation deserve our protection and we should not allow them to end up as a gourmet meal for diners in Europe and Asia (which is where horse meat is exported to).

4. The three horse slaughter plants in this country are all foreign owned. Americans do not benefit economically from the slaughter of our horses.

[safehorses]

Currently the bill has 198 co-sponsors...all it needs is a simple majority to pass...and that means 218 votes at the minimum. So the bill is about 20 co sponsors short of guaranteed passage. That doesn't mean it won't pass if they don't all co sponsor, but if you co sponsor a bill, it means you will definitely vote for it.

Here is a list of representatives that voted for the Sweeney Amendment (this amendment prohibited the funding of USDA inspectors at the slaughter houses. It was supposed to stop slaughter for the fiscal year 2006, but the Sec. of Agriculture allowed private funding by the plants). Please contact these reps to ask them to cosponsor HR 503:

LIST OF FORMER SUPPORTERS OF HR 857 AND THE SWEENEY-SPRATT AMENDMENT THAT
HAVE NOT COSPONSORED HR 503 YET

ALABAMA

Member Name DC Phone DC Fax

Rep. Robert E. Cramer, Jr. (D - 05) 202-225-4801 202-225-4392

CALIFORNIA

Member Name DC Phone DC Fax

Rep. Mike Thompson (D - 01) 202-225-3311 202-225-4335

COLORADO

Member Name DC Phone DC Fax

Rep. Mark Udall (D - 02) 202-225-2161 202-226-7840

FLORIDA

Member Name DC Phone DC Fax

Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R - 05) 202-225-1002 202-226-6559
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R - 25) 202-225-2778 202-226-0346

ILLINOIS

Member Name DC Phone DC Fax

Rep. Dan Lipinski (D - 03) 202-225-5701 202-225-1012
Rep. Gerald C. (Jerry) Weller (R - 11) 202-225-3635 202-225-3521
Rep. Jerry F. Costello (D - 12) 202-225-5661 202-225-0285
Rep. Judy Biggert (R - 13) 202-225-3515 202-225-9420

INDIANA

Member Name DC Phone DC Fax

Rep. Mike Pence (R - 06) 202-225-3021 202-225-3382

KENTUCKY

Member Name DC Phone DC Fax

Rep. Harold Rogers (R - 05) 202-225-4601 202-225-0940

LOUISIANA

Member Name DC Phone DC Fax

Rep. William J. Jefferson (D - 02) 202-225-6636 202-225-1988

MARYLAND

Member Name DC Phone DC Fax

Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest (R - 01) 202-225-5311 202-225-0254

MICHIGAN

Member Name DC Phone DC Fax

Rep. Fred Upton (R - 06) 202-225-3761 202-225-4986

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Member Name DC Phone DC Fax

Rep. Jeb Bradley (R - 01) 202-225-5456 202-225-5822
Rep. Charles F. Bass, II (R - 02) 202-225-5206 202-225-2946

NEW JERSEY

Member Name DC Phone DC Fax

Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D - 08) 202-225-5751 202-225-5782

NEW YORK

Member Name DC Phone DC Fax

Rep. Joseph Crowley (D - 07) 202-225-3965 202-225-1909
Rep. Nita M. Lowey (D - 18) 202-225-6506 202-225-0546

VIRGINIA

Member Name DC Phone DC Fax

Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R - 04) 202-225-6365 202-226-1170

[pdevlieg]

Dear Friends of Horses,



Congress will reconvene on July 10th and it is expected that the House of Representatives will be voting on H. R. 503 - the Anti-Horse Slaughter Bill known as the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. Currently 197 House members have signed onto the bill to end the inhumane practice of horse slaughter. It will take a simple majority to pass in the 435 member House.



Once passed in the House of Representatives, it is felt that passage in the Senate will be easier.



HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Please call your Representative on July 10th and ask them to support H.R. 503 (find them at http://www.congress.org) or
call Capitol switchboard at [phone]
Ask your Representative to keep you informed as to their vote
Please send us a copy of any Representative's letter who votes against H. R. 503
Click here to see if your Representative signed on to 503 thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:HR00503:@@@p



There will be a strong opposition mounted against 503 by the Cattlemen's Association so please do call your representative and express your support!



For more information please go to www.aowha.org



We thank you for your support!



FACTS ABOUT HORSE SLAUGHTER:



There are currently three "foreign" owned slaughter plants in the U.S. (two in Texas and one in Illinois)
Only 1% of our horses are slaughtered in the U.S. (approximately 60 to 90,000 horses)
Ending the slaughter of 1% of our horses will not increase cases of neglect or abuse but will end forever the inhumane death that they must suffer.
More than 90% of the horses arriving at slaughter plants are in "good" condition (meaning that the sick and lame are less than 10%)
In 1998, a ballot initiative in the state of California passed with 60% of the vote - outlaws horse slaughter.
Karen A. Sussman
President, ISPMB
PO Box 55
Lantry, SD 57636
Tel: [phone]
Cell: 605.365.6991
Saving America's Wild Horses & Burros since 1960

www.ispmb.org