“It is a sad state of affairs when we have to fight to prevent the slaughter of more than 90,000 American horses a year to appease the dieting habits of foreigners.  Horses are an integral part of the tapestry of this country – an American icon.  Yet the merchants of slaughter will have us believe that it is fine and dandy to slaughter our horses for the sole purpose of sending their flesh overseas to support some warped demand among foreign diners for horse meat on their menus,” said Rahall, the Ranking Member on the House Resources Committee.

He continued, “Most importantly, the horse is a companion for many Americans, and a treasured childhood memory.  Horses are part of our identity and heritage, and in America they are not for human consumption.”

The bipartisan legislation, passed out of the House of Representatives with a vote of 263-146, will put a stop, once and for all, to the brutal practice of horse slaughter.  Today, three foreign-owned slaughterhouses operate in the U.S. to serve the foreign market in horse meat.  Thousands more horses are shipped out annually to Canadian and Mexican slaughterhouses.  H.R. 503 will prohibit the sale, transporting, purchasing or possessing of horses to be slaughtered for foreign consumption. 

 “The horse slaughter industry is an export-driven market – a ghastly, but lucrative practice.  Americans do not want it, and we should not be facilitating it.  Today, the Members of this House have demonstrated that we will stand up to the likes of those who slaughter our horses for profit and power,” Rahall said.