Michael Minor
Attorney at Law  

Telephone 972-932-5141                                                                    P. O. Drawer 878
FAX 972-932-7742                                                                            104 West Grove Street
                                                                                                            Kaufman , Texas   75142 

March 5, 2003

Hon. Betty Brown
House of Representatives
State Capitol
Austin , Texas   78711  

Re:  Horse Slaughter Bill  HB 1324  

Dear Betty:

Shame on you!  

Your referenced horse slaughter bill makes me sick at my stomach.  

There is a reason why there are only two horse slaughter plants in the United States which, unfortunately, are both in Texas .

 As you should be aware there is an Attorney General’s opinion which concludes that horse slaughter is illegal.  The federal litigation is a thinly disguised effort to buy time pending the introduction of your bill.

 I call on you to withdraw your special interest and inhumane horse slaughter bill.  I am not interested in our (or any other) horses being slaughtered for the benefit of the Japanese, Belgians or French.  I have certainly not noticed any of them coming to the aide of this country in connection with our terrorist problems.

The manner in which horses are hauled and slaughtered is cruel and inhumane and many have their throats slit while they are still conscious.  Your bill condones and perpetrates these horrors.

 I do not understand why you went through the charade of including criminal sanctions in your bill.  Making violations a Class C misdemeanor is ludicrous and tantamount to being kicked out of the “Book of the Month Club”.  Cruelty to animals as defined in Sect. 42.09 of the Penal Code is a Class A Misdemeanor or a state jail felony if the perpetrator has had two previous convictions.

 As a voter and taxpayer I request to know if any of your mostly special interest campaign contributions totaling $284,297.04 were made by the owners, agents or employees of Dallas Crown Packing or anyone in privity to them or in their behalf?

 It is an embarrassment that Texas is the only state in the union where horses are slaughtered and shocking in the extreme that you are aiding and abetting same.  

Sincerely,

 Michael Minor  

MM/jp  

cc:        Hon. Rick Hardcastle
            Hon. Sid Miller
            Hon. Delwin Jones
            Hon. James E. (Pete) Laney
            Hon. David Swinford
            Hon. Lon Burnam
            Other interested parties