Status: H.B. 1324 has passed the Texas House of Representatives and is now in the Agriculture Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources.

Background: Only two horse slaughter plants remain in the United States, both operating in Texas despite a state law banning the practice. In response to the Texas attorney general's ruling that the plants were in violation of the law, the plants filed a federal lawsuit to forestall prosecution, and have now gotten a bill filed in the state legislature to overturn the law. The bill would make it illegal to slaughter horses for human consumption, but only if the consumption happens in the United States. As all horse meat from Texas is sold to foreign markets, the bill would allow the plants to continue killing thousands of horses a year.

Horses suffer both in transportation to slaughter and during the slaughtering process. Hauled in trailers designed for cattle, the horses are overcrowded and often injured. The animals are difficult to render unconscious with a captive bolt gun, leading slaughterhouses to slit many horses' throats while the animals are still conscious. Texas is the only state that slaughters horses for meat, despite the special place horses occupy in the history and culture of the state.

This is the last chance to close down the horse slaughter industry in the United States. If this bill is passed, more than 1,000 horses will continue to be slaughtered every week.

What You Can Do:

1. Please contact all the members of the Senate Natural Resources Committee (listed below) immediately and ask them to oppose H.B. 1324, the horse slaughter bill. Let these senators know that the legislature should not cater to two foreign-owned horse-killing plants when the majority of Americans are appalled by the slaughter of horses for meat.
2. Also contact your own state senator through the legislature's switchboard at 512-463-4630 (ask to be transferred to your Senator's office). You can find out who your senator is at www.congress.org.
3. If you have an extra minute, you can also contact Texas Governor Rick Perry and let him know that allowing the legislature to pass this bill will be a black mark on Texas' reputation. Ask him to stop the passage of H.B. 1324.

   Office of the Governor
   P.O. Box 12428
   Austin, Texas 78711-2428
   Fax: 512-463-1849
   You can e-mail the governor at: www.governor.state.tx.us

4. Candlelight vigils to protest H.B. 1324 are being held in major cities on Saturday, May 10, from 7:00–9:00 p.m. Come out to show your support for America's horses:

   Fort Worth—Ft. Worth Water Gardens, 1502 Commerce Street
   Dallas—Kennedy Memorial Center in downtown Dallas
   Austin—Capitol Grounds
   Houston—Herman Square Downtown

   For more information, please call 940-399-9855 for Dallas and Ft. Worth or 361-221-9820 for Austin and Houston.

Senate Natural Resources Committee

Kenneth Armbrister (Chair)
512-463-0118
Fax: 512-475-3736

Mike Jackson (Vice-Chair)
512-463-0111
Fax: 512-475-3727

Robert Duncan
512-463-0128
Fax: 512-463-2424

Craig Estes
512-463-0130
Fax: 512-463-8874

Eddie Lucio
512-463-0127
Fax: 512-463-0061

Gonzalo Barrientos
512-463-0114
Fax: 512-463-5949

Troy Fraser
512-463-0124
Fax: 512-475-3732

Juan Hinojoso
512-463-0120
Fax: 512-463-0229

Jon Lindsay
512-463-0107
Fax: 512-463-8810

Florence Shapiro
512-463-0108
Fax: 512-463-7579

Todd Staples
512-463-0103
Fax: 512-463-1526