ACTION ALERT
May 10, 2007
Your immediate help is needed to keep horse slaughter out of Texas.
What's Going On
The Bills introduced by the horse slaughter plants to legalize horse slaughter in Texas have gone nowhere. They now realize that they cannot legalize horse slaughter in Texas through normal legislative channels and have reverted to a backup strategy trying to amend other legitimate legislation as it works its way through the legislative process.
We have learned that one primary target for adding an amendment to legalize horse slaughter is HB 2543 which is a bill authorizing the continuation and operation of the Texas Animal Health Commission. That bill has passed the House of Representatives and is currently in the Senate.
We also expect them to try to amend other bills as the opportunity arises. Most of this is likely to take place in the Senate. We have the votes in the Senate to stop this, but we must make our Senators aware of this strategy and urge them to be on the lookout for and oppose any amendments that would legalize horse slaughter in Texas. The horse slaughter plants are paying huge sums to high-paid lobbyists to search for ways to get horse slaughter legalized through the backdoor. WE MUST STOP IT.
Action Needed
Immediately contact every Texas State Senator (other than Senators John Whitmire and Rodney Ellis who have already committed to help us fight the legalization of horse slaughter in Texas. Also, please don't contact Senator Glenn Hegar, Jr.'s office as well.)
Tell the Senators that you strongly oppose the slaughter of our horses for human consumption abroad and ask them to look for and oppose any amendment to HB 2543 or any other bill that would legalize horse slaughter in Texas.
Talking Points
When talking with the Senators remind them of the following facts:
Horse
slaughter for human consumption has been banned in Texas since
1949.
No
matter what anyone says, horse slaughter and the related
transportation of horses to slaughter is extremely cruel and
inhumane. Slaughter is not euthanasia, it is slaughter!
When
the horse slaughter plants attempted to legalize horse slaughter
in 2003, a Texas voter poll was taken which showed that 72% of
Texans oppose horse slaughter for human consumption; 8 to 1 Texans
associate the value of horses with Texas state culture, heritage
and economy rather than as a livestock commodity like cattle; and
77% would vote against any member of the legislature who supported
a repeal of the existing Texas law banning horse slaughter.
Horse
slaughter plants are a drain on the local economy. The two
Texas horse slaughter plants are foreign owned and employ
less than 130 low-paid, mostly migrant workers. They require
USDA oversight of the slaughtering process costing US taxpayers
hundred of thousands of dollars. The horse slaughter plants
gross millions of dollars each year, but by using accounting
loopholes they pay little or no US taxes sending all their profits
to their foreign owners.
Horse
slaughter promotes horse theft, bragging "from the stable to
the table in forty-eight hours," healthy horses are stolen,
butchered and their meat exported within hours. It's
virtually impossible to save a stolen horse from slaughter given
this short time frame. Horse theft in California dropped by
over 34% immediately after that state banned horse slaughter and
has continued to drop steadily by over 80% in 2005.
America's Horses Are Counting On You.
Please contact these Texas Senators IMMEDIATELY and ask your friends to do the same. Their contact information is as follows:
Texas Senate
The mailing address for all Senators in Austin is:
P.O.
Box 12068
Austin, Texas 78711-2068
Phone, fax and email are below:
Senator
Phone
/ Fax Email
Kip
Averitt (R)
(512) 463-0122 /
475-3729 kip.averitt@senate.state.tx.us
Kenneth
"Kim" Brimer (R)
(512) 463-0110 /
475-3745 kim.brimer@senate.state.tx.us
John
J. Carona (R)
(512) 463-0116 /
463-3135 john.carona@senate.state.tx.us
Robert
F. Deuell (R)
(512) 463-0102 /
463-7202 robert.deuell@senate.state.tx.us
Robert
Duncan (R)
(512) 463-0128 /
463-2424 robert.duncan@senate.state.tx.us
Kevin
P. Eltife (R)
(512) 463-0101 /
475-3751 kevin.eltife@senate.state.tx.us
Craig
Estes (R)
(512) 463-0130 /
463-8874 craig.estes@senate.state.tx.us
Troy
Fraser (R)
(512) 463-0124 /
475-3732 troy.fraser@senate.state.tx.us
Mario
Gallegos (D)
(512) 463-0106 /
463-0346 mario.gallegos@senate.state.tx.us
Chris
Harris (R)
(512) 463-0109 /
463-7003 chris.harris@senate.state.tx.us
Juan
"Chuy" Hinojosa (D)
(512) 463-0120 /
463-0229 juan.hinojosa@senate.state.tx.us
Mike
Jackson (R)
(512) 463-0111 /
475-3727 mike.jackson@senate.state.tx.us
Kyle
Janek (R)
(512) 463-0117 /
463-0639 kyle.janek@senate.state.tx.us
Eddie
Lucio (D)
(512) 463-0127 /
463-0061 eddie.lucio@senate.state.tx.us
Jane
Nelson (R)
(512) 463-0112 /
463-0923 jane.nelson@senate.state.tx.us
Robert
Nichols (R)
(512) 463-0103 /
463-1526 robert.nichols@senate.state.tx.us
Steve
Ogden (R)
(512) 463-0105 /
463-5713 steve.ogden@senate.state.tx.us
Dan
Patrick (R)
(512) 463-0107
dan.patrick@senate.state.tx.us
Kel
Seliger (R)
(512) 463-0131 /
475-3733 kel.seliger@senate.state.tx.us
Florence
Shapiro (R)
(512) 463-0108 /
463-7579 florence.shapiro@senate.state.tx.us
Eliot
Shapleigh (D)
(512) 463-0129 /
463-0218 eliot.shapleigh@senate.state.tx.us
Carlos
I. Uresti (D)
(512) 463-0119 /
463-1017 carlos.uresti@senate.state.tx.us
Leticia
Van de Putte (D)
(512) 463-0126 /
463-2114 leticia.vandeputte@senate.state.tx.us
Kirk
Watson (D)
(512) 463-0114 /
463-5949 kirk.watson@senate.state.tx.us
Jeff
Wentworth (R)
(512) 463-0125 /
463-7794 jeff.wentworth@senate.state.tx.us
Royce
West (D)
(512) 463-0123 /
463-0299 royce.west@senate.state.tx.us
Tommy
Williams (R)
(512) 463-0104 /
463-6373 tommy.williams@senate.state.tx.us
Judith
Zaffirini (D)
(512) 463-0121 /
475-3738 judith.zaffirini@senate.state.tx.us
Habitat for Horses is a 501.c.3 nonprofit organization with members throughout the United States. Our mission is to provide education for horse owners, to work with law enforcement as an aid to enforce local animal cruelty laws, to rehabilitate equines within our organization and to adopt them to homes that understand the true value of the majestic equines in their care.
Sincerely,
Jerry
Finch
Habitat for Horses - www.HabitatforHorses.org
(866)
434-5737