CAVEL falsified documents to obtain their license. We do not need this type of business in our fine state.

These foreign companies pay NO TARIFF on American horsemeat.

If they want to eat American meat, let it be our beef, our veal, our pork, our chicken – meats grown, medicated, and cared for properly and safely under the USDA.

Their countries have put bans on our beef, our meat exports that DO have tariffs, claiming health concerns. Yet they continue to import our horses, which are NOT regulated, not raised for food, not treated and cared for as food animals. And, interestingly enough, NOT TARIFFED.

Horses are not raised like pigs/cattle/chickens, with meat production being the intended end result. Horses are fed known carinogens such as Bute every day without consideration that the meat might later be consumed by humans, as more than 90% of America’s horse owners have no idea horses are even slaughtered live in this country.

Legally, horses are classified as companion animals. We do not slaughter dogs and cats in this country to feed countries who consume these animals. Neither should we slaughter our horses for them.

Horse theft dropped more than 30% in California, and stayed down, after slaughter became illegal in that state.

The cost of disposal of a dying horse in central Illinois is no more than $100 via the University, and the animal’s death has educational and training value for future veterinarians. Other parts of the state are in the $100-150 range. This is a reasonable expense thousands of American horse owners currently incur if they do not bury their animal on their property. A very small portion of America’s horses are currently slaughtered to death, and so the question of where the rest of the bodies would go is an unrealistic question.

Horses and horse equipment are currently taxed as non-livestock, non-food, pleasure items. If Illinois converts horses to livestock and slaughters them as livestock, from their current legal status as COMPANIONS, then these taxes must be revoked and income lost. Complex laws must be put in place to properly regulate the treatment of these animals before they become meat. Did you know Europe actually requires a passport for each horse, including its full medical history and proof of ownership? Do we really want/need to put this type of complexity into our PLEASURE HORSE ownership when America does NOT eat horsemeat, does not raise horses for meat, and DOES NOT GAIN ANY PROFIT VIA TARIFFS ON HORSEMEAT?

America does not eat horsemeat. If these cultures wish to eat their own horses, that is certainly their option. But in our culture, in our society, we do not eat companion animals such as dogs, cats, and HORSES (please see 510 ILCS 70/2.01a, where horses are defined specifically as COMPANIONS).

Please allow me to state one last time, this bill has NOTHING to do with livestock. Horses are NOT livestock. To say passing this bill will affect livestock farming would be like saying to NOT pass this bill will mean that Illinois will now start having slaughterhouses to slaughter other companion animals – cats and dogs – for human consumption.