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Illinois State Senate Committee to Consider Ban
on Cruel Double-Deck Horse Transports

Illinois State Rep. Sacia trying to legalize horse slaughter, AGAIN!

Dear Humanitarian:

On Wednesday, May 14 the Illinois General Assembly’s Senate Agriculture and Conservation Committee will consider HB 4162, sponsored by State Senator John Cullerton (D). This bill, which successfully passed out of the House in February, amends the Humane Care for Animals Act so that “no person may transport any equidae in a vehicle or trailer containing 2 or more levels, one on top of the other.”

The bill is a result of a horrific accident involving horses in Illinois. A double-deck tractor trailer carrying 59 Belgian draft horses through Wadsworth, IL in October 2007 “blew through a stop light at Route 41 and Wadsworth Road and struck another vehicle,” according to local police on the scene of the accident. The severe crash resulted in more than five hours of suffering for the horses before authorities could free them from the mangled truck. Sadly, nine horses died on the scene, with another six dying later because of injuries they sustained.

Accidents such as this one are not uncommon. Only one year earlier, a double-deck truck hauling 41 horses to slaughter crashed on its way to the Cavel International facility in DeKalb, Ill. This tragic incident resulted in the death of 16 horses. Similar scenarios have occurred elsewhere in the United States.

Illinois has become the leader in protecting equines from abuse and neglect. Last year, the state’s General Assembly overwhelmingly passed legislation banning the slaughter of horses for human consumption. Unfortunately, although horses can no longer be slaughtered in Illinois, the middlemen working for Cavel - known as “killer buyers” - continue to buy horses across the country.

The horses are then shipped to Mexico and Canada for slaughter, often passing through Illinois en route to the Cavel plant in Canada or to plants in Mexico. The preferred method of transporting horses to slaughter remains the double-deck truck, a two-tiered trailer designed for other livestock such as cattle and hogs. Use of theses conveyances to transport horses is cruel and dangerous.

The State of Illinois has made clear its intolerance of the horse slaughter industry by shutting down its sole plant. H.B. 4162 will ensure the companies still buying horses and shipping them through Illinois to slaughter in Canada and Mexico can no longer use the horribly inhumane double-deckers to haul these animals.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Please contact members of the Senate Agriculture & Conservation Committee first thing Monday morning (see below for contact information), urging them to support HB 4162, sponsored by Senator Cullerton, and many of his colleagues. You may want to mention the following facts:

* Double-deck trailers are designed for livestock such as cattle and hogs, not horses.
* The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has “reviewed limited data within the scientific literature that suggest increased rates of injury associated with the use of double-decked conveyances for transporting horses.?
* According to the AVMA, “sources, such as the National Agriculture Safety Database and various manufacturers producing trailers specifically for horse transport recommend heights of 7 to 8 ft as being necessary for the safe and comfortable transport of horses (i.e., adequate headroom for the horses to stand comfortably with their heads in normal position); it appears difficult, if not impossible, to meet such recommendations via the use of currently configured double-deck trailers, particularly for taller horses.”
* The US Department of Agriculture is currently in the process of prohibiting the use of double-deckers entirely, as part of their Equine Transport to Slaughter policy.

Additionally, State Representative Jim Sacia (R) - the leading opponent in the Illinois legislature to ending horse slaughter - is still working to undermine the will of the people of Illinois and the Illinois General Assembly. Several months ago he introduced a bill that would legalize horse slaughter again and despite its unpopularity he continues to push for its consideration by the House Drivers Education and Safety Committee (which already rejected his misguided proposal once this year). Please remind each member of the committee (see below for contact information) that the Illinois General Assembly banned horse slaughter by an overwhelming majority just last year, and urge them to reject any bill or amendment offered by Representative Sacia, AGAIN!

* Representative Sacia is telling his colleagues that since the Illinois ban, horse abuse and neglect have increased even though he has NO evidence to support this claim. He is giving them false information presented by the “Horse Welfare Coalition” which was founded and is currently run by the slaughterhouses themselves.
* Make sure each office knows that ending horse slaughter has only been good for the horses and the state ban is important. There is no evidence that abuse and neglect increase, but there is documentation from Illinois that abuse decreased after the plant was temporarily closed several years ago.

If you have any questions, please contact Chris Heyde of AWI at (703) 836-4300. Be sure to bookmark http://www.awionline.org/legislation/horse_slaughter/whats_new.htm for updates on this hearing and other horse slaughter campaign information.

Please share this eAlert with friends, family and coworkers, and urge them to weigh in with the Illinois state legislature to ensure that horses continue to receive the protection they deserve. As always, thank you for your help!

Sincerely,
Chris Heyde
Deputy Director of Government and Legal Affairs
www.awionline.org
www.compassionindex.org

Illinois General Assembly
House Drivers Education & Safety Committee

Please contact the members of this committee and ask them to oppose HB 4489 or any other measure sponsored by Representative Jim Sacia to legalize the slaughter of horses in Illinois. For a full list of the Committee, click here:

http://www.ilga.gov/house/committees/members.asp?CommitteeID=531&GA=95

Illinois General Assembly
Senate Agriculture & Conservation Committee

Please contact the members of this committee and ask them to support HB 4162, sponsored by Senator John Cullerton, to ban the transport of horses on double-deck trailers. For a full list of the Committee, click here: http://www.ilga.gov/senate/committees/members.asp?CommitteeID=379

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Missouri State Senate to Consider Pro-Horse Slaughter Resolution

Calls Needed TODAY!

Dear Humanitarian:

The Animal Welfare Institute has just learned that the Missouri State Senate will consider a resolution as soon as Monday, May 5, urging the US Congress to block passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (AHSPA) and facilitate the construction of new horse slaughter plants on US soil.

Missouri Senate Concurrent Resolution 35 flies in the face of public sentiment and reason. The AHSPA, introduced as H.R. 503/S. 311, is an important animal protective measure that will prohibit the slaughter of our horses here or abroad for human consumption around the globe.

This resolution, clearly shaped by the pro-horse slaughter lobby, is chock full of misinformation and scare tactics designed to unnerve federal legislators and prevent them from taking action to stop America’s horses from going to slaughter. It refers to the “Horse Welfare Coalition,” a group founded and currently run by the slaughterhouses, which consists of only pro-horse slaughter organizations – including the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Equine Practitioners, and the American Quarter Horse Association.

If passed, the resolution will be used to press our legislators into allowing the continued slaughter of our horses at the hands of a cruel and predatory industry that does nothing to help horses (as the resolution’s authors would have you believe) and everything to hurt them.

Be sure to let Missouri’s Senators know that the Horse Welfare Coalition and the sponsors of this resolution are out of step with the states of Texas, Illinois and California (which have already banned horse slaughter), as well as more than 500 horse industry groups and leaders, equine rescues, veterinary organizations and the majority of Americans, all of whom support passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. (For a comprehensive list of supporters, click here).

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Please contact the Missouri legislators listed below today and Monday morning, asking them to OPPOSE Senate Concurrent Resolution 35. You do not need to be a Missouri resident to call, as this resolution, if passed, has the potential to impact horses and horse owners from across the nation. For additional facts about horse slaughter, click here.

Please share this AWI eAlert with friends, family and others, and urge them to email in opposition to any resolution or statement opposing the AHSPA, too. As always, thank you for your help!

For the latest updates on this bill and AWI’s campaign against horse slaughter, be sure to visit www.awionline.org/legislation/horse_slaughter/whats_new.htm.

Thank you for your help,

Chris Heyde
Deputy Director, Government and Legal Affairs
Animal Welfare Institute
www.awionline.org
www.compassionindex.org

Call today. Missouri State Senate Contact Information

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House of the Illinois General Assembly Moves to Ban Double Deck Horse Transport

Springfield, IL (April 8, 2008) – Following last year’s passage of an Illinois state law banning horse slaughter, the House of the Illinois General Assembly today adopted HB 4162, a bill to ban the use of double-deck cattle trailers to transport horses inside the state. Sponsored in the House by Representatives JoAnn Osmond (R-61st) and Bob Molaro (D-21st), the bill easily passed by a vote of 80-29 and will now move to the Senate for consideration. Although the state’s sole horse slaughter plant closed in 2007, these trailers are still used to move horses through Illinois to be slaughtered elsewhere.

“On behalf of our Illinois supporters and horse lovers around the United States, we commend Representatives Osmond and Molaro and their colleagues in the House for passing this double decker ban,” said Chris Heyde, Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) deputy director of government and legal affairs. “The Illinois General Assembly has taken action to stop the brutal injury and death of horses transported on trailers not designed for them. We look forward to seeing the Senate enact this modest and responsible legislation.”

During today’s floor debate, staunch horse slaughter advocate Representative Jim Sacia railed against the Illinois ban on horse slaughter. Sacia continues to mislead his colleagues in an attempt to overturn the ban, which easily passed the Illinois General Assembly last year. He advocates the reopening of US plants by highlighting how bad the situation is for horses going to Canada and Mexico for slaughter, a fate AWI opposed for years. However, Sacia fails to point out that the industry he is advocating for in the United States is the same industry buying tens of thousands of American horses and shipping them to their plants in Canada and Mexico.

“If Representative Sacia cared about our horses, he would commend the Illinois ban and urge the US Congress to swiftly enact the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act,” Heyde said. “Mr. Sacia is clearly trying to keep a cruel industry alive while couching his disingenuous move as a mark of compassion.”

AWI will continue to advocate for HB 4162 as it moves to the Senate. Be sure to stay up to date on the Illinois legislation, as well as AWI’s national campaign against horse slaughter, by visiting www.awionline.org daily. While you are there, please also sign up for our eAlerts so that you can take action for animals when needed.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Chris Heyde, 703-836-4300

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Illinois Legislature to Vote on Double-Decker Horse Trailer Ban

Calls Needed!

Dear Illinois Humanitarian:

Next week, HB 4162 will come to the House floor for a vote. The bill prohibits the transport of horses and other equidae on double-deck trailers.

The usual cast of opponents are coming out against this modest and humane bill, despite overwhelming evidence that double-deckers are a cruel and inhumane mode of hauling horses. At one point, they mislead bill sponsor Representative JoAnn Osmond into considering an amendment that would have completely gutted the legislation. Thankfully, Representative Osmond and others in the Illinois General Assembly took the time to listen to the Animal Welfare Institute and withdrew the harmful “Amendment 2″ before moving the bill to the House for consideration.

Background:

In October 2007, a double-deck tractor trailer carrying 59 Belgian draft horses through Wadsworth, Illinois “blew through a stop light at Route 41 and Wadsworth Road and struck another vehicle,” according to local police on the scene of the accident. The severe crash resulted in more than 5 hours of suffering for the horses before authorities could free them from the mangled truck. Sadly, nine animals died on the scene, with another six dying later on due to injuries sustained during the tragedy.

Accidents such as this one are not uncommon, since the two-tiered trailer is not designed to carry horses. Only a year earlier, a double-deck truck hauling 41 horses to slaughter at the Cavel International slaughterhouse in DeKalb, Illinois crashed as well (pictured), resulting in the deaths of 16 horses. Similar scenarios have occurred elsewhere in the United States.

Not only is it unsafe to haul horses in double-deck trailers, but it is inhumane — a point on which humane organizations, veterinary associations and even the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agree. According to the USDA:

Double-deck trailers do not provide adequate headroom for equines, with the possible exception of foals and yearlings. We do not believe that trailers that have two or more permanent levels that are not collapsible can be adequately altered to accommodate adult equines, especially tall equines. A tall equine can be 8 feet tall to the top of its head when standing on all four legs and close to 12 feet tall when rearing.

We acknowledge that double-deck trailers can carry more equines and other livestock than single-deck trailers…. We do not believe that equines can be safely and humanely transported on a conveyance that has an animal cargo space divided into two or more stacked levels. (9 CFR Parts 70 and 88).

Illinois has become a leader in protecting equines from abuse and neglect. Just last year, the Illinois General Assembly overwhelmingly passed legislation banning the slaughter of horses for human consumption. Sadly, although horses can no longer be slaughtered in the state, “killer buyers” continue to buy horses from across the United States as middlemen for the company.

The horses are then shipped to Mexico and Canada for slaughter, often passing through Illinois en route to Cavel’s plant in Canada or plants in Mexico. For now, the slaughterhouses preferred method of transporting horses to slaughter remains the double-deck truck.

What you can do:

A vote on HB 4162 is expected next week; please make calls in support of the HB 4162 Friday and Monday to your Representative’s district office, and/or the capitol office on Tuesday. HB 4162 is a bi-partisan and widely supported measure. Be sure to mention the USDA quotes above and our facts listed below.

To find your legislator and their contact information, please click here: http://www.ilga.gov/reports/rptMemberList.asp?gaid=9&ChamberId=H. Because time is short, a quick phone call is the best means of expressing your support for this important legislation.

Facts:

* Double-deck trailers are designed for livestock such as cattle and hogs, not horses.
* The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has “reviewed limited data within the scientific literature that suggest increased rates of injury associated with the use of double-decked conveyances for transporting horses.”
* Again, according to the AVMA “sources, such as the National Agriculture Safety Database and various manufacturers producing trailers specifically for horse transport recommend heights of 7 to 8 ft as being necessary for the safe and comfortable transport of horses (i.e., adequate headroom for the horses to stand comfortably with their heads in normal position); it appears difficult, if not impossible, to meet such recommendations via the use of currently configured double-deck trailers, particularly for taller horses.”
* The US Department of Agriculture opposes the transport of horses on double-deck trailers and is currently in the process of prohibiting their use completely under the agency’s regulations governing the transport of equines to slaughter.
* Killer-buyers continue to use these trucks while passing through Illinois on their way to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico.

Be sure to share this AWI eAlert with friends, family and other residents of Illinois, and urge them to call in support of HB 4162, too. As always, thank you for your help!

For the latest updates on this bill and AWI’s campaign against horse slaughter be sure to visit http://www.awionline.org/legislation/horse_slaughter/whats_new.htm every day.

Sincerely,
Chris Heyde
Deputy Director, Government and Legal Affairs

Animal Welfare Institute
www.awionline.org
www.compassionindex.org

For over 57 years, AWI has been the leading voice for animals across the country and on Capitol Hill. Please join us in our ongoing campaigns to reduce the sum total of pain and fear inflicted on animals by humans. Sign up for AWI eAlerts to receive the latest news on what you can do to help us protect all animals: http://www.awionline.org/joinus.

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THE TRUTH BEHIND HUMANE SLAUGHTER LAW

Animal Welfare Institute Report Reveals Lack of Enforcement

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 25, 2008) – “The hog was lying in the cradle and all four feet had been removed. The hog was observed to be kicking and shaking its head. It exhibited skin twitching and irregular but rhythmic breathing with deep abdominal and thoracic movement. It appeared to be gasping for breath,” a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspector wrote about a still-conscious hog at a slaughter plant in Frankenmuth, Mo.

With meat recalls due to bacterial contamination and the horrific handling and slaughtering of downer cows making headlines in recent months, consumers are increasingly aware of some of the problems occurring behind slaughterhouse doors. But new documentation reveals how dire the situation really is. The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) has released the first report of its kind to analyze humane slaughter enforcement at state, federal and foreign slaughterhouses.

Drawing from over 1,000 documents obtained from sources including 60 public records requests to federal and state agriculture departments from 2002 to 2007, the report exposes the lack of sound enforcement at plants throughout the United States and across the globe.

“This report shows that enforcement of humane slaughter law is a low priority of the US Department of Agriculture, state agriculture departments, and the U.S. animal agriculture industry as a whole,” said author Dena Jones, a consultant to AWI. “Legal and regulatory changes need to be made in the current inspection system to better protect the approximately 10 billion animals killed for food each year in the United States.”

Currently, humane slaughter laws require that livestock be rendered insensible with one stunning attempt before they are killed. However, American Meat Institute guidelines consider an acceptable stunning effectiveness rating of 99 percent for pigs and 95 percent for cattle and sheep, while the National Chicken Council has set an acceptable stunning standard of 98 percent for chickens. Even if every single slaughter plant was able to meet these voluntary industry goals, the report notes, 185 million chickens, 1.8 million cattle and sheep and 1 million pigs would still be killed inhumanely each year in the United States.

Little time is actually spent by agriculture department inspectors observing the handling, stunning and slaughter of animals. Nonetheless, the citations recorded by the USDA are disturbing. At a plant in Benton, Ark., an inspector noted, “At approximately 1:00 p.m. [a Holstein cow] had a 1 cm hole in its forehead from a captive bolt stunner. At 1:10 p.m. the cow had not been moved and was breathing regularly. An establishment employee tried to re-stun the animal twice but the hand held captive bolt stunner did not fire.”

Between 2002 and 2005, only 42 enforcement actions beyond issuances of deficiency reports for noncompliances with humane slaughter laws were taken in the United States. But whistleblower accounts and undercover videotape documentation from inside slaughterhouses reviewed in the report suggest that the current low level of humane enforcement is not due to a lack of violations. Instead, crimes are either not observed or recognized by inspection personnel, not reported through the proper channel, or the appropriate remedial measures are not being taken.

“USDA inspectors must be present at plants to ensure adherence to basic standards of decency, said AWI President Cathy Liss. “At the very least, animals who are killed for food are entitled to a merciful death.”

For a PDF version (150 pgs, 1.4MB) of the report, click here.

Contact:

Cathy Liss, (703) 836-4300

Dena Jones, (617) 896-9292

For over 57 years, AWI has been the leading voice for animals across the country and on Capitol Hill. AWI promotes humane farming practices and fights the growth of animal factories for the benefit of animals, consumers, farm families, rural communities and the environment. More information is available at www.awionline.org.

********************
Christopher J. Heyde
Deputy Director, Government and Legal Affairs
Animal Welfare Institute
PO Box 3650
Washington, DC 20027
Tel: (703) 836-4300 ~ Fax: (888) 260-2271

Cell: (202) 423-8689
www.awionline.org
www.compassionindex.org

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