Newsdate: Wed 20 April 2016 – 6:30 am
Location: WASHINGTON, DC

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee voted to adopt an amendment to prevent the slaughter of horses for human consumption on U.S. soil.

Working to protect American horses from slaughter

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee voted to adopt an amendment to prevent the slaughter of horses for human consumption on U.S. soil.
© 2016 by Carien Schippers

The amendment to the agriculture appropriations bill that bars spending by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to inspect horse slaughterhouses was offered by Reps. Sam Farr, D – Calif., and Charlie Dent, R – Pa., and passed by a vote of 25-23.

A similar amendment is expected to be considered in the Senate Appropriations Committee, and The Humane Society of the United States urges both chambers to pass the measure and prevent the use of American tax dollars for this cruel practice.

Michael Markarian, chief operating officer for The HSUS, said, “The horse slaughter industry is a predatory, inhumane enterprise. They don’t ‘euthanize’ old horses, but precisely the opposite: they buy up young and healthy horses, often by misrepresenting their intentions, and kill them to sell the meat to Europe and Japan.”

Lawmakers voting yes on the amendment, to protect horses:

Sanford Bishop (D-GA), Ander Crenshaw (R-FL), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Charlie Dent (R-PA), Sam Farr (D-CA), Michael Honda (D-CA),  Steve Israel (D-NY), David Jolly (R-FL), David Joyce (R-OH), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Nita Lowey (D-NY), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), David Price (D-NC), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Tom Rooney (R-FL), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), Tim Ryan (D-OH), Jose Serrano (D-NY), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Peter Visclosky (D-IN), Kevin Yoder (R-KS).

Lawmakers voting no on the amendment:

Robert Aderholt (R-AL), Mark Amodei (R-NV), Ken Calvert (R-CA), John Carter (R-TX), Tom Cole (R-OK), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN), Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ),  Kay Granger (R-TX), Tom Graves (R-GA), Andy Harris (R-MD),  Jaime Herrera Buetler (R-WA), Evan Jenkins (R-WV), Steven Palazzo (R-MS), Scott Rigell (R-VA), Martha Roby (R-AL), Hal Rogers (R-KY), Mike Simpson (R-ID), Chris Stewart (R-UT), David Valadao (R-CA), Steve Womack (R-AR), David Young (R-IA).

Not voting:

Henry Cuellar (D-TX), John Culberson (R-TX), Chaka Fattah (D-PA).