TomD
11-24-04, 12:56 PM 11-24-04
AHDF Wild Horse Protection Alert:
Animal protection groups and the process of representative government received a dual blow under the cover of the Federal Appropriations Bill this past weekend. A last minute rider to the Horse Protection Act was slipped into the bill in what is recognized by animal welfare advocates as a desperate attempt to weaken current law and the growing equine anti-slaughter movement.
In 1971 Congress passed The Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burros Act (Wild Horses Act) specifically to recognize wild horses and burros as an integral part of America’s heritage, and to protect them from exploitation. The measure received more support, and generated more letters from the public than any non-war issue on record at that time. Saturday (11/20/2004), without discussion or public awareness our members of Congress passed a rider to this act that removes federal protections against slaughter and takes away criminal provisions for people who buy wild horses at auction for slaughter purposes. This rider was a surprise to the hundreds of organizations working to end slaughter, and support the animals of our nation.
The change was drafted by Republican Senator Conrad Burns (Montana) and slid in to the massive Budget Appropriations Bill at the final hour. Burns supports his rider by noting the number of horses on the range needs to be brought down to manageable levels, something animal protection advocates, environmentalists and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have wrestled with for years. The rider allows the BLM to dispose of wild free-roaming horses and burros at local livestock auctions. It goes so far as to mandate the Bureau of Land Management sell all older wild horses (those over ten years old) and those not adopted (after 3 attempts) at such auctions! As written, this rider provides a direct route to the slaughter market for thousands of our nations horses.
You can help by writing or calling President Bush today, requesting that he veto the Bill due to this rider. Please be polite yet firm in your concern that special interest and back-door politics prevented you from expressing your opposition to such a rider prior to submission and vote. You should also contact your Federal representatives and ask them to support the protections provided in the Horse Protection Act prior to this riders amendment, and further protect our horses by adding their support to the Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 857) as drafted by John Sweeney, chair of the Congressional Horse Caucus.
You may use the following resources to immediately contact President Bush:
President George W. Bush
Phone: 202-456-1111
Fax: 202-456-2461
E-mail: President@WhiteHouse.gov
A link for contacting Federal Representatives for your state and district is located at the American Horse Defense Fund’s website www.ahdf.org, along with additional information on our nations wild horses and the slaughter issue. Your comments help ensure the survival of thousands of horses annually. Please act today!
American Horse Defense Fund
Wild Horse Committee
P.O. Box 75984
Washington, DC 20013
Toll Free: 866-983-3456
Animal protection groups and the process of representative government received a dual blow under the cover of the Federal Appropriations Bill this past weekend. A last minute rider to the Horse Protection Act was slipped into the bill in what is recognized by animal welfare advocates as a desperate attempt to weaken current law and the growing equine anti-slaughter movement.
In 1971 Congress passed The Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burros Act (Wild Horses Act) specifically to recognize wild horses and burros as an integral part of America’s heritage, and to protect them from exploitation. The measure received more support, and generated more letters from the public than any non-war issue on record at that time. Saturday (11/20/2004), without discussion or public awareness our members of Congress passed a rider to this act that removes federal protections against slaughter and takes away criminal provisions for people who buy wild horses at auction for slaughter purposes. This rider was a surprise to the hundreds of organizations working to end slaughter, and support the animals of our nation.
The change was drafted by Republican Senator Conrad Burns (Montana) and slid in to the massive Budget Appropriations Bill at the final hour. Burns supports his rider by noting the number of horses on the range needs to be brought down to manageable levels, something animal protection advocates, environmentalists and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have wrestled with for years. The rider allows the BLM to dispose of wild free-roaming horses and burros at local livestock auctions. It goes so far as to mandate the Bureau of Land Management sell all older wild horses (those over ten years old) and those not adopted (after 3 attempts) at such auctions! As written, this rider provides a direct route to the slaughter market for thousands of our nations horses.
You can help by writing or calling President Bush today, requesting that he veto the Bill due to this rider. Please be polite yet firm in your concern that special interest and back-door politics prevented you from expressing your opposition to such a rider prior to submission and vote. You should also contact your Federal representatives and ask them to support the protections provided in the Horse Protection Act prior to this riders amendment, and further protect our horses by adding their support to the Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 857) as drafted by John Sweeney, chair of the Congressional Horse Caucus.
You may use the following resources to immediately contact President Bush:
President George W. Bush
Phone: 202-456-1111
Fax: 202-456-2461
E-mail: President@WhiteHouse.gov
A link for contacting Federal Representatives for your state and district is located at the American Horse Defense Fund’s website www.ahdf.org, along with additional information on our nations wild horses and the slaughter issue. Your comments help ensure the survival of thousands of horses annually. Please act today!
American Horse Defense Fund
Wild Horse Committee
P.O. Box 75984
Washington, DC 20013
Toll Free: 866-983-3456