Sent: Monday, January 19, 2004 1:31 PM
Subject: Your Jan 18, 2004 piece on PMU mares; HR 857 - The American
Horse Slaughter Prevention Act
Thank you for your outstanding segment
on PMU mares.
I own the land next to the Dallas Crown horse
slaughter plant in Kaufman, Texas.
The owners of Dallas Crown, for over 20 years,
have lied about the horses they slaughter. They say the horses are old,
sick, crippled, or crazy (OSCC). I see the horses all the time.
They look like this.
Photo taken at Dallas Crown, Kaufman, Tx on
Sunday, Sep 1, 2002 by Paula Bacon
I thought there was nothing I could do to stop
this insanity until I saw a February, 2002 letter from Texas State
Representative Tony Goolsby asking for a Texas Attorney General's opinion as
to enforcement of Texas Agriculture Code Section 149. That law prohibits
the possession, sale, or transport of horsemeat for human consumption. Texas
Attorney General John Cornyn (now a U.S. Senator) wrote on Aug 7, 2002
that it was indeed a Texas crime to slaughter horses for human consumption,
even if the consumption takes place outside the United States. The
Belgian and French owned slaughter plants promptly sued the counties of
Tarrant and Kaufman to block prosecution under the Texas law (Sep 26, 2002).
Then my Texas State Representative, Betty Brown, filed a bill that
would have legalized the two slaughter plants (Feb 26, 2003). We
defeated her bill.
Now we are waiting for a federal court ruling on
this issue. I hope the only two horse slaughter plants in the United
States (Beltex in Fort Worth, Tx and Dallas Crown in Kaufman, Tx) will be shut
down after the judge rules in the suit.
Illinois Assemblyman Robert Molaro has offered a
bill that will ban horse slaughter in Illinois and will prevent the reopening
of Cavel in DeKalb, Illinois. Their horse slaughter plant burned to the
ground on March 31, 2002.
Kaufman mayor Paula Bacon and I were interviewed
by a Dallas TV news investigative reporter last week who I believe plans a
local news piece sometime soon.
Here is an 8 minute video about the Austin fight
to stop Betty Brown's bill that would have legalized the horse plants. I
can send you a CD of better quality if you wish.
Meanwhile, there is a bill before the U.S.
Congress that would outlaw horse slaughter for human consumption. It is
HR 857, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, currently with 161
cosponsors.
Thank you for your outstanding piece on
PMU mares.
"Never doubt that a small group of
thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world;
indeed it's the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead
