Federal anti-horse slaughter legislation, known as the SAFE Act, H.R. 3475, reached a critical political threshold with a majority of the U.S. House publicly on record in supporting it,

H.R. 3475 would, among other things, halt inhumane trafficking of healthy horses to Mexico and Canada to be butchered for reexport to Asia.

The SAFE Act, would ban the slaughter of U.S. horses for human consumption, including live exports to Mexico and Canada. The companion bill, S. 2037, also has strong bipartisan support.

“The United States halted any slaughter of American horses and other equines in 2007,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy.

“Now it is time to complete the job of protecting American horses by halting live exports of them for butchering in Mexico and Canada.”

“The House Agriculture Committee should take note of the overwhelming Congressional support for the legislation on both sides of the aisle,” Pacelle added.

“I doubt any serious-minded lawmaker would stand up in the well of the House and defend this ruthless trade of horses who had lives as companions, racing animals, work horses, or other accepted roles in American society.”

Pressure for passage of the SAFE Act is mounting just as recently released USDA export data shows that kill buyers shipped 17,997 horses from Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas to slaughter plants in Mexico in 2023.

It is the most significant annual percentage increase of live exports since 2012. Final numbers are not yet available for live exports to Canada.

A year ago, an investigation by the Center for a Humane Economy, revealed immense suffering of horses and other equids during transportation, holding, and slaughter, with results showing a lack of care, deficient delivery of food or water, and transport in cramped, dangerous, and unsanitary conditions.

“We are sounding the alarm to Congress that healthy American horses are being butchered in a secretive, inhumane trade to Mexico,” Pacelle said.

“Not one more year of this trafficking of these iconic animals should be tolerated. The animal welfare community and the Thoroughbred racing industry are united in demanding an end to this archaic, miserable, sickening trade.”

Among hundreds of supporters of the SAFE Act are the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, The Jockey Club, The New York Racing Association, the New York Thoroughbreds Horsemen’s Association, and the New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc.

Animal Wellness Action is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(4) whose mission is to help animals by promoting laws and regulations at federal, state, and local levels that forbid cruelty to all animals. The group also works to enforce existing anti-cruelty and wildlife protection laws.

The Center for a Humane Economy is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(3) whose mission is to help animals by helping forge a more humane economic order.

The center encourages businesses to honor their social responsibilities in a culture where consumers, investors, and other key stakeholders abhor cruelty and the degradation of the environment.

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“The days of tossing four small square hay bales out the south hay mow door to the bunk are gone.”

Morning feeding chores would be finished by pitching two more bales down the chute to the barn manger.

Sometimes a harnessed draft team was hitched to a wagon for distributing hay to other nearby pasture critters.

Those days when a family was raised on a quarter section farm have become hindsight. Now it takes big trucks and tractors to get the livestock chores done hopefully before noon.

Instead of a couple dozen head of livestock fed in the barnyard, it’s several hundred if not a thousand. They’re spread out over a section of ranchland or sometimes several miles away.

It was sorrowful for some farmers in the past century when they replaced horsepower with tractors. Several families have talked about tears shed when a farmer replaced his team with a tractor. The horses had become almost family as they were handled and used every day.

Small tractors became essential for field work and handling livestock with pickups filling in for feeding and hauling.

Like all agriculture, technology changed rapidly, and bigger, more powerful equipment was deemed essential for growing enterprises.

An established routine makes choring relatively easy for the operator with livestock soon becoming accustomed to feeding time.

Problems are part of farm living and equipment breakdowns are quite frequent always increasing when the weather becomes inclement.

Most farmers used to be such mechanically inclined that machinery repair could be done personally.

That has changed with computerization, so most equipment requires a special technician to calculate the problem.

Despite fewer agricultural operations, there are not enough facilities with adequate technology and operators to keep up with machinery breakdowns.

Repairmen used to be called to the field getting farmers back working within a few hours. That is impossible today due to the necessity of having equipment in the shop for repairs.

Machinery dealers have long lists of equipment needing work with technicians working overtime. It might require several days before a machine can be overhauled.

Some people have indicated the world would be better off going back to horse and mule teams.

Reminded of Ecclesiastes 7:10: “Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions.”

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XVIII–6–2-5-2024