Advocacy Alert from the ASPCA USA: Fate of American Horses Depends on Your Legislator!

In two late-night decisions on September 5 and 6, the U.S. House Committee on Rules blocked consideration of two critical amendments—one that would have continued the ban on horse slaughter in this country, and one to prevent the Bureau of Land Management from killing thousands of federally protected wild horses and burros.
A small minority of pro-slaughter members prevented the full House from weighing in on these crucial provisions, knowing that they both would have passed in a landslide if given a vote on the House floor.
Background: Every year Congress must approve language prohibiting the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from using taxpayer dollars to inspect horse slaughter facilities. This language effectively bars the grisly horse slaughter industry from setting up shop in the U.S. Unfortunately, this year, the House Appropriations Committee narrowly failed to pass the necessary amendment, and the Rules Committee blocked it from being considered on the floor. This means horse slaughter could return in a matter of months if we don’t act now.
But that’s not all: After decades of protection, tens of thousands of our federally protected wild horses and burros may end up being killed due to shocking actions of the same House Appropriations Committee. Earlier this year the Department of Interior released a budget proposal that encouraged the killing and commercial slaughter of these icons of the American West. Killing is not a solution, and Congress needs to hear that Americans will not forgive or forget this betrayal of our treasured herds.
What You Can Do
Congressional leaders will now decide the fate of our nation’s horses, so it is critical that your elected officials in Washington, D.C., know that you want to see American horses, both domestic and wild, protected. Please take these two actions NOW to ensure that the federal government does not resurrect the nightmarish horse slaughter industry in our communities or exterminate wild horses in the West.
1.  Use the form below to email your U.S. legislators and urge them to support a ban on federal funding for horse slaughter and a prohibition on funds to kill healthy wild horses in the final Appropriations bill.
2. Then, please place three quick, polite phone calls: 1 to your representative in the U.S. House, and 1 each to your two U.S. senators. Find their names and numbers here, and below are scripts you may use when you place calls.
• When calling your U.S. rep, say: “My name is [YOUR NAME] and I am from [CITY, STATE]. As your constituent, I urge you to protect our nation’s horses from slaughter and our wild horses from mass extermination in the final FY18 Appropriations bill. Please also reach out to leadership and urge them to support these protections. Thank you.”
• When calling your U.S. senators, say: “My name is [YOUR NAME] and I am from [CITY, STATE]. As your constituent and a strong supporter of equine welfare, I urge you to please support the Senate version of the Agriculture Appropriations bill, which prohibits the use of federal funds on horse slaughter. Please also support a prohibition on the use of our tax dollars to kill tens of thousands of wild horses and burros. Thank you.”
On behalf of our nation’s horses, thank you!
Courtesy of www.aspca.org