USDA DEfunds Horse Slaughter Plant Inspections in 2014 Budget

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Breaking News From | Equine Welfare Alliance

Secretary Vilsack has added language to the FY14 budget submission to DEFUND HORSE INSPECTIONS. While this does not impact the current budget, it is a clear indication that the USDA recognizes the dangers to our food supply and exports into the foreign food supply if horse slaughter was to resume in the US.

This is the first time the USDA has actually included the defunding language in the budget request.

A huge thank you to Secretary Vilsack for backing up his recent statements by making food safety a top priority in addition to not wanting to spend tax dollars inspecting horse slaughter facilities.

Here is the language:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Appendix

Page 197 of Dept. of Agriculture Appendix

 

SEC. 725. None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to pay the salaries or expenses of personnel to-(1) inspect horses under section 3 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 603); (2) inspect horses under section 903 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 1901 note; Public Law 104127); or (3) implement or enforce section 352.19 of title 9, Code of Federal Regulations.

Send an Automatic Letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack ~ Prevent Horse Slaughter

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Advocates Opposing Horse Slaughter… This is a fast, easy action to take for Our Horses.

CLICK HERE to send an Automatic Letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.

The Animal Welfare Institute applauds Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for joining AWI and the majority of Americans who feel there are better, more humane, more responsible options for horses nearing the end of their lives or their careers than being slaughtered for meat.

Secretary Vilsack, while speaking with reporters earlier this week, called on Congress to come up with other ways for this country to handle aging horses than to slaughter them for meat for human consumption. Secretary Vilsack, a former governor of Iowa, noted that in his home state horses work with inmates in prisons, and that this helps prisoners acquire job skills for when they rejoin society.

An additional factor that weighs heavily in favor of Secretary Vilsack’s call for humane alternatives is the federal government’s growing budgetary crisis. If the Department of Agriculture were to resume inspection of horse slaughter facilities—something it has not done for several years—the department would be forced to divert limited manpower and funding in order to finance the effort because Congress did not provide additional funding when it removed the annual prohibition on inspecting these facilities.  The timing could not be worse, given the current congressional emphasis on shrinking, not expanding, government expenditures.

“A recent national survey found that over 80 percent of Americans support a ban on horse slaughter and Secretary Vilsack is right in representing that position,” said Heyde. “AWI urges everyone who supports an end to horse slaughter in favor of more humane and responsible alternatives to write Secretary Vilsack and urge him to work with Congress on passage of the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act.”

Please share this AWI eAlert with family, friends and coworkers, and encourage them to write too. As always, thank you for your help; your action does make a difference!

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack Looking For Alternatives To Horse Slaughter.

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Advocates Opposing Horse Slaughter… This is a fast, easy action to take for Our Horses.

CLICK HERE to send an Automatic Letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.

The Animal Welfare Institute applauds Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for joining AWI and the majority of Americans who feel there are better, more humane, more responsible options for horses nearing the end of their lives or their careers than being slaughtered for meat.

Secretary Vilsack, while speaking with reporters earlier this week, called on Congress to come up with other ways for this country to handle aging horses than to slaughter them for meat for human consumption. Secretary Vilsack, a former governor of Iowa, noted that in his home state horses work with inmates in prisons, and that this helps prisoners acquire job skills for when they rejoin society.

An additional factor that weighs heavily in favor of Secretary Vilsack’s call for humane alternatives is the federal government’s growing budgetary crisis. If the Department of Agriculture were to resume inspection of horse slaughter facilities—something it has not done for several years—the department would be forced to divert limited manpower and funding in order to finance the effort because Congress did not provide additional funding when it removed the annual prohibition on inspecting these facilities.  The timing could not be worse, given the current congressional emphasis on shrinking, not expanding, government expenditures.

“A recent national survey found that over 80 percent of Americans support a ban on horse slaughter and Secretary Vilsack is right in representing that position,” said Heyde. “AWI urges everyone who supports an end to horse slaughter in favor of more humane and responsible alternatives to write Secretary Vilsack and urge him to work with Congress on passage of the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act.”

Please share this AWI eAlert with family, friends and coworkers, and encourage them to write too. As always, thank you for your help; your action does make a difference!