UPDATE AND ACTION ALERT TO DEFEAT HB 1324
*THIS BILL WILL MAKE HORSE SLAUGHTER LEGAL IN TEXAS * (4/1/2003)

Update:
	HB 1324, the bill that will legalize horse slaughter for human consumption, has been favorably voted out of the House Agriculture and Livestock Committee.  This is disappointing, but not surprising since this committee is very unfavorable to animal welfare or animal protection issues and in addition, the sponsor of the bill, Betty Brown (R-Kaufman), is on that committee.  Although a loss of one battle, it is not a loss of the war.  HB 1324 now goes to House Committee on Calendars which is a committee that holds no hearings, but determines what bills will and will not be sent to the House floor for a full House vote.  If we can persuade this committee to not send HB 1324 to the House floor for a vote, the bill is dead.

To kill this bill, you must do TWO things:

	FIRST, you must call, write or fax each of the members of the Calendars Committee (and the Clerk of that committee).  Tell them you strongly oppose HB 1324 and ask them not to approve it for a House vote.  All necessary contact information for doing so is listed below.  

	SECOND, you must call, write or fax your own personal House Representative and ask him/her to contact members of the Calendars Committee and tell them that he/she is opposed to HB 1324 and does not want HB 1324 to go to the floor for a House vote. To find out the name of your House Representative and how to contact him/her, go to www.thln.com, click on Links and click on Find Your Legislative Incumbent., or call your county elections office and ask them.  

IF YOU ACT TODAY, THIS BILL WILL DIE;  IF YOU DON’T,
THOUSANDS OF HORSES WILL DIE!

	The following are talking points which you can use:

•	The Texas Attorney General has ruled that the sale of horsemeat for human consumption is a criminal offense. 
•	
•	The only two horse slaughter plants in this country are here in Texas and they are operating illegally.
•	One is owned by a Belgian company, the other by a French company.  ALL profits from horse slaughter in Texas go to those foreign companies.
•	All horsemeat produced at these slaughter plants is sent to France, Belgium, Germany, and Japan.
•	Last year these plants slaughtered approximately 43,000 American horses, and their sales of horsemeat to foreigners exceeded $40,000,000.  
•	Simply put – they are killing our horses to feed the French, Belgians, Germans, and Japanese and the French and Belgians are making millions doing it while at the same time they are violating our law! 
•	The majority of horses slaughtered in these plants are not old, sick, or lame, but instead, are young, healthy American horses bought by killer buyers who attend horse auctions where they compete with families and horse brokers looking for good, sound horses.
•	The transportation of these horses is cruel and inhumane.  Horses are often transported in double deck cattle trailers, which prevent them from standing upright and causes severe head, back, and neck injuries. Horses are trucked for days with no food, water, or rest. Fighting is a major cause of injuries during transport, because no consideration is given to mixing stallions with geldings, mares and foals.
•	
•	The slaughter methods used to kill these horses are anything BUT humane. The 2000 Report of the American Veterinary Medical Association Panel on Euthanasia states “adequate restraint is important to ensure proper placement of the penetrating captive bolt” when used for euthanasia of horses. Proper head restraint on a fractious, frightened horse in a slaughter plant killing 160 horses a day is virtually impossible. These  horses often endure repeated stuns or blows, and remain conscious during their own slaughter, including throat slitting.
•	Last but not least, let’s address the economic aspect of closing these two slaughter houses. The 6 million horses currently in the U.S. have a direct impact on the U.S. Gross Domestic Product of $25.3 billion, or over $4,200 per horse. Slaughter bound horses represent less than 1 percent of the total number of horses in the U.S. If these horses are absorbed into the current horse population, it would mean adding almost a quarter of a billion dollars to the economy each year.  The economic impact of closing the slaughterhouses would be the temporary loss of 130 minimum wage, high-turnover jobs in two counties in Texas.

The Calendars Committee and their contact information is as follows:

Name			Dist/County			Capitol Office		District Office
Beverly Woolley	R - Dist. 136			Tel: 512/463-0696	Tel:713/629-6313
(Chair)			Harris 				Fax: 512/463-9333	Fax: 713/629-7206

Arlene Wohlgemuth	R - Dist. 58			Tel: 512/463-0538	Tel: 817/295-5158
(Vice Chair)		Bosque, Johnson		Fax: 512/463-6551	Fax: 817/295-5319

Wayne Christian	R - Dist. 9			Tel: 512/463-0556	Tel: 936/598-7580
			Jasper, Nacogdoches,		Fax: 512/463-3102	Fax: 936/598-8160
			Sabine, San Augustine,					Toll Free: 977-WAYNE-TX
			Shelby

Suzanna Gratia Hupp	R - Dist. 54			Tel: 512/463-0684	Tel: 512/556-8954
			Bell, Burnet, Lampasas		Fax: 512/482-8284	Fax: 512/556-4754

Vilma Luna		D - Dist. 33			Tel: 512/463-0484	Tel: 361/854-9816
			Nueces				Fax: 512/463-8090	Fax: 361/852-0665
			
Jerry Madden		R - Dist. 67			Tel: 512/463-0544	Tel: 972/424-2235
			Collin				Fax: 512/463-9974	Fax: 972/424-6730
			
Jose Menendez		D - Dist. 124			Tel: 512/463-0634	Tel: 210/673-3579
			Bexar				Fax: 512/463-7668	Fax: 210/673-3816      

Eugene “Gene” Seaman	R - Dist. 32			Tel: 512/463-0672	Tel: 361/994-1996
			Aransas, Calhoun,		Fax: 512/463-3509	Fax: 361/991-6578
			Nueces, San Patricio					Toll Free: 888-436-3945

Barry B. Telford	D - Dist. 1			Tel: 512/463-0692	Tel: 903/667-5514
			Bowie, Cass, Marion,		Fax: 512/463-8155	Fax: 903/667-5613
			Morris

Vicki Truitt		R - Dist. 98			Tel: 512/463-0690	Tel: 817/488-4098
			Tarrant				Fax: 512/463-5770	Fax: 817/488-4099
			
Sylvester Turner	D - Dist. 139			Tel: 512/463-0554	Tel: 713/683-6363
			Harris				Fax: 512/463-8380	Fax: 713/957-0718
										Toll Free: 866-886-8900

Tessa Zavala						Tel: 512/463-0758	
(Clerk)							Fax: 512/463-9333	

Capital Office mailing addresses for all members:	  P.O. Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768