Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Bob Menendez
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) today announced bipartisan legislation to permanently prohibit and make it a federal crime to slaughter horses for human consumption in the United States. The legislation also bans any related interstate or foreign commercial activity, such as the export of horsemeat or the transport of horses to slaughterhouses in other countries.
“The gruesome practice of slaughtering horses for food has no place in the United States, and it’s well past time for Congress to say once and for all that horsemeat is not what’s for dinner,” said Sen. Menendez. “Horses are routinely treated with drugs that are dangerous for human consumption and do not belong in our nation’s food supply. Our bipartisan legislation will help put an end to the cruel and inhumane slaughter of horses while protecting families from toxic horse meat and safeguarding the reputation of the U.S. food industry worldwide.”
“Horses hold a special place in our history and culture, and the practice of slaughtering them to satisfy foreign appetites simply does not reflect the admiration we have for these animals,” said Sen. Collins. “In an effort to protect horses, this legislation would deter the transport or purchase of horses for human consumption.”
The John Stringer Rainey Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act prohibits the knowing sale or transport of equines or equine parts in interstate or foreign commerce for purposes of human consumption. It also makes it a federal crime punishable by up to two years in prison for individuals and slaughterhouses who violate the law. The lawmakers plan to formally introduce the bill tomorrow.
While the slaughtering of horses for human consumption in the United States is exceedingly rare, data from the National Agricultural Statistics Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reveals that over 100,000 American horses are exported to Canadian and Mexican slaughterhouses each year.
Sen. Menendez has continuously led the effort to ban horsemeat by defunding federally required meat inspections by the USDA at slaughterhouses where horses are sent, which effectively prohibits any slaughter plants from killing horses.
“Just nine years ago, 160,000 American horses were exported abroad for slaughter. Due to awareness of this inhumane and predatory industry, that number has dropped dramatically with just over 35,000 shipped to slaughter in 2020. But one horse is still too many,” said Sara Amundson, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “We are grateful to Senators Menendez, Graham, Whitehouse, and Collins for their leadership and commitment to passing this crucial equine protection bill, which will end this grisly industry and protect these American icons from those who profit off their deaths.”
“The overwhelming majority of Americans oppose horse slaughter for human consumption and the ASPCA is working resolutely to solve equine welfare issues on the ground, but we cannot fully succeed while the slaughter pipeline remains open,” said Nancy Perry, senior vice president of Government Relations for the ASPCA. “We thank Senators Menendez, Graham, Collins, and Whitehouse for their leadership on this bill, and urge Congress to pass the SAFE Act to finally end this cruel, unnecessary practice and provide protections to American horses and the people who love them.”
“The predatory horse slaughter industry has persisted for far too long in the United States, but we are now closer than ever to shutting down this inhumane operation that exports beloved animals to be killed for human consumption,” said Cathy Liss, president of the Animal Welfare Institute. “We are grateful to Senators Menendez, Graham, Whitehouse, and Collins for their leadership on the SAFE Act, and we hope that the Senate will move swiftly to pass this crucial legislation.”
“RTF is grateful that Sens. Menendez, Graham, Whitehouse and Collins continue to champion the SAFE Act to protect America’s horses, and we stand ready to help, said Neda DeMayo, founder of Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation. “Whether it’s a wild horse that once roamed our public land, a pet, a race horse, or a workhorse, no American horse should suffer slaughter on our soil or the road to slaughter across our borders to an inhumane death. It’s the ultimate betrayal of an animal that helped build our country.
Full text of the SAFE Act can be downloaded here.