From the Animal Welfare
Institute
www.awionline.org
November 9, 2011
URGENT eALERT: Constituent-Only
Phone Calls Needed: Keep Taxpayers From Funding U.S.
Horse Slaughter Inspections!
Dear Humanitarian,
Your help is needed on
behalf of our nation’s horses. Until 2007, three foreign-owned slaughterhouses
in the U.S. butchered horses for markets in Europe and Asia, where horse meat
is considered a delicacy. Because of tremendous opposition from the American
public and horse owners, Congress has prevented horse slaughter in the U.S. by
putting language in its annual Agriculture Appropriations Bill prohibiting your
tax dollars from being used to inspect horse meat. This language is in
the Agriculture Appropriations Bill the House passed just a few months ago.
Even though the current
Congress claims it is trying to reduce government spending, a couple of Members
are trying to resume funding for inspections of horse slaughterhouses—a step
that could allow them to reopen on U.S. soil! Unless the American people speak up, two or three Members of Congress will succeed in blocking the will of the
American public and the majority of Congress without any say in the
matter. They will quietly remove the language without a vote and that is
not how our Congress should operate.
Check out the list below
to see if you have either a U.S. Senator or Representative serving on the Conference
Committee that is currently debating the Agriculture
Appropriations Bill. This committee will play a pivotal role
in determining whether horse slaughter returns to the United States. You may
have an elected official in a key position to help retain this important
language defunding inspections of horse slaughter facilities and he/she needs
to hear from you TODAY!
What You Can Do
Because Congress is
acting on this issue right now, a call is the best option for having your voice
heard. Place a brief,
polite phone call to your legislator and say:
“As a
constituent (and if you own a horse let them know), I ask that you
retain language in the Agriculture Appropriations Bill that bans the use of our
limited tax dollars to fund horse slaughterhouse inspections. Maintaining
this prohibition is of great importance to me and I will be watching for the
final outcome.”
Making the call will be
fast and easy, and could make a real difference for thousands of American
horses while we work to pass a permanent ban on horse slaughter. You can
also check out AWI’s Compassion Index to see how your
legislator stands on the issue of horse slaughter and other animal protection
measure.
Please ONLY call the
legislator listed alongside the state you live in:
Alabama:
Senator Richard Shelby (202) 224-5744
Arkansas:
Senator Mark Pryor
(202) 224-2353
Arizona:
Representative Ed
Pastor (202) 225-4065
California:
Senator Dianne
Feinstein (202) 224-3841
Connecticut:
Representative Rosa DeLauro (202) 225-3661
Florida:
Representative Bill Young (202) 225-5961
Georgia:
Representative Jack Kingston (202) 225-5831
Hawaii:
Senator Daniel Inouye (202) 224-3934
Iowa:
Senator Tom Harkin (202) 224-3254
Kansas:
Senator Jerry Moran (202) 224-6521
Kentucky:
Senator Mitch McConnell (202) 224-2541
Massachusetts:
Representative John Olver (202) 225-5335
Maryland:
Senator Barbara Mikulski
(202) 224-4654
Maine:
Senator Susan Collins (202) 224-2523
Missouri:
Senator Roy
Blunt (202) 224-5721
Mississippi:
Senator Thad Cochran (202) 224-5054
North Carolina:
Representative David Price (202) 225-1784
North Dakota:
Senator John Hoeven (202) 224-2551
Nebraska:
Senator Ben Nelson (202)
224-6551
Ohio:
Senator Sherrod Brown (202) 224-2315
Pennsylvania:
Representative Chaka Fattah (202) 225-4001
South Dakota:
Senator Tim Johnson (202) 224-5842
Texas:
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (202) 224-5922
Virginia:
Representative Frank Wolf (202) 225-5136
Washington:
Representative Norm Dicks (202) 225-5916
Wisconsin:
Senator Herb Kohl (202)
224-5653
Please help us to alert
everyone that their calls are vital to keep limited tax dollars from being used
to slaughter American horses. Be sure to share this Dear Humanitarian eAlert with friends, family and coworkers, and encourage
them to take action today!
Thank you,
Chris
____________________________
CHRIS HEYDE
Deputy Director
Government and Legal
Affairs
ANIMAL WELFARE INSTITUTE
900 Pennsylvania Ave.,
SE
Washington, DC 20003
www.awionline.org ~ www.compassionindex.org