According to a June 16 press release, leading U.S. horse racing professionals have come together in solidarity to support a U.S. House amendment that would ban the transportation of American horses for slaughter across state lines and borders. Led by U.S. Representatives Troy Carter, a Democrat from Louisiana, Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican from Pennsylvania, and John Katko, a Republican from Modern York, the amendment is Investing in a Modern Vision for the Environment and Land Transportation in America Act, HR3684, is proposed to appear on the floor of the House of Representatives in the next few weeks.
There are currently no horse slaughter facilities in the United States. However, more than 30,000 American horses are exported alive across borders to Canada and Mexico to be slaughtered each year – thousands of them are former racehorses and breeding horses, the release said. In addition to the anti-slaughter policies at most U.S. racetracks, there are numerous aftercare programs and sanctuaries nationwide to prevent racehorses from going to slaughter. Despite these policies and programs, racehorses slip through the cracks and end up at auction houses, leaving them vulnerable to acquisition by kill buyers, the middlemen who send the horses to slaughterhouses.
Last month, the Save America's Forgotten Equines Act, HR3355, was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. If passed, it would ban horse slaughter facilities from opening on U.S. soil and ban the export of horses across borders. Similar legislation has been introduced in Congress over the past two decades. As efforts to advance the SAFE Act continue, the bipartisan Carter-Fitzpatrick-Katko amendment is offered as an alternative path. The amendment received the support of nearly 150 members of the U.S. House of Representatives on the day it was announced, and that number is expected to grow exponentially.
“After years of pushing for a ban on the slaughter of our American horses, I am pleased with this latest development and applaud our leadership in Washington for their commitment to this issue. Stopping the transportation of horses for slaughter will be a game-changer,” said Staci Hancock of Stone Farm. “It's time to put an end to this brutal practice in the United States once and for all. Horses are used for sport, bred for competition and companionship, not to be part of the food chain. As owners and breeders, we must be the stewards of our horses' lives. They look to us for care and protection, and it is unreasonable to subject them to terrible slaughter let.
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“It was a close call this year to get our Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby winner The deputy released from a killing enclosure. And this was far from our first rodeo,” said Barry Irwin, CEO of Team Valor International. “I support any initiative that will end this cycle.”
Trainer Graham Motion, who trained Team Valor's 2011 Kentucky Derby. Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner wildlife said: “It is high time we stop transporting American horses for slaughter across state lines and across borders. At Herringswell we are committed to finding other careers for Thoroughbreds once their racing days are over. The practice of transporting horses.” because the slaughter is abhorrent and must end.
“Now that the Modern York State Legislature has done the right thing, I would hope that the federal government would step in and ensure that our racehorses receive appropriate homes after their careers are over,” said Jeff Gural, owner of Allerage Farm and Owner of Meadowlands, Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs racetracks. “Sale for slaughter should have been abolished years ago.”
“As a multiple Kentucky Derby-winning jockey and Hall of Fame career, my passion for my outstanding equestrian athletes has never waned. The Carter, Fitzpatrick and Katko Amendment to the INVEST Act, which will stop interstate travel through the state and international borders for horse slaughter, is a must,” said Gary Stevens. “There is always a place for our wonderful friends to retreat and enjoy the life they all deserve.”
Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens
“Everyone in racing should support the Carter, Fitzpatrick and Katko amendment – and make every effort to end the slaughter of our horses “will never end until the slaughter is stopped at the federal level,” said National President Victoria Keith Thoroughbred Welfare Organization. “We urge all racing organizations to step up now and make this collective push to end this profound injustice to our horses and the PR nightmare for racing.”
“If you are at least interested in horses and at most make a living working with horses, then supporting the Carter, Fitzpatrick, Katko amendment is so obvious that it shouldn't be thought twice about,” Dr. Patty Hogan of Hogan Equine. “Welfare issues are at the forefront of public concern across all equine-related sports and industries in this country, and to ignore this fact is to do so at one’s peril and peril. Passing this change will be threatening.” “Finally close the loopholes that exist.” There are still problems for our most vulnerable members of the U.S. horse population.”
According to nationwide polls, over 80% of Americans oppose horse slaughter and want them to be protected from such a fate, the release said. Other horse racing professionals supporting the change include Claiborne Farm, Cobra Farm, Crawford Farms, Equine Advocates, Fawn Leap Farm, Foxie G Foundation, Gainesway Farm, Jack Knowlton and Sackatoga Stable, Lael Stables, Machmer Hall Thoroughbreds, NP Zito Racing Stable, Neil Drysdale, Pin Oak Stud, RACE Fund, Shadowlawn Farm, Agent Shaun Dugan, Tranquility Farm, US Harness Racing Alumni Association, West Point Thoroughbreds and numerous others.
