Chuck - Thanks so much for offering to help me. Here are the statistics that my friend Pat Dickey got from Greg Lawley over the phone back in April, and below the stats is the paragraph she included in her letter to Texas State Representative Suzanna Hupp regarding the statistics. As you've probably guessed, I worked to defeat the recent Texas bill that would have legalized the two Texas horse slaughter plants, and now I'm working to support the federal bill (HR 857) that would ban horse slaughter across America. The Dallas Crown horse slaughtering plant is next to a 40 acre farm in Kaufman, Texas that has been in my family for over 150 years. I see the horses waiting for slaughter.

2002-30
2001-39
2000-27
1999-39
1998-60
1997-71
1996-67
1995-49

"Stolen horses investigations and reports in California are working through county Rural Crime Prevention Task Forces, County Sheriff’s Departments, Citizens alerts, Owners, and the Livestock Identification and Brand inspectors. The point person for verification is Greg Lawley, Chief of the Bureau of Livestock Investigators. His telephone number is 916-654-0889."

Chuck - The numbers seem very low to me because when I checked with the Kaufman County Sheriff's Department I was given 11 stolen horse reports for the period 5/12/01 - 3/25/03, and that's just one county in Texas. Since the California stats show a decrease in horse theft after the 1998 slaughter ban, we would like to point to the good experience. However, I want to make sure the numbers will stand scrutiny. Is it possible these numbers represent only a sampling?

Thanks for any help.

Regards,
Mary S. Nash
104 S. Houston St.
Kaufman, Tx 75142
972-962-7706
NashHulme@msn.com
www.kaufmanzoning.net/horsemeat