Horsemen’s Council of Illinois
Frank Bowman - President
P.O.Box 1605
Springfield IL, 62705


Dear Mr. Bowman,

     Having recently read “Preserving the Slaughter Option-Fact Over Furor” by the Horsemen’s Council of
Illinois (HCI).  I feel I must respond .

As you say in your document, there indeed appears to be a problem with the “facts.”  The problem, however, lies in the alleged “facts” of your document, not in the real facts presented by those who seek to ban horse slaughter in Illinois.
 
For starters, HCI has based this document entirely on the premise that there is a controversy brewing between “animal rights groups” and “much of the horse industry.”

The real fact is, the controversy is between the vast majority of the people in the professional horse industry who oppose horse slaughter, and the very small minority of backyard horseman plus the HCI’s board of directors who defend and encourage horse slaughter.

We cannot take your word that the HCI affiliates listed in the HCI roster advocate horse slaughter, as no documentation of a formal “polling” of the affiliates is known to exist and many of these groups and individuals are well known supporters of SB 1921.

The following is a partial list of the groups and professional  horseman who support SB 1921 that will outlaw horse slaughter for human consumption in Illinois:

Illinois Thoroughbred  Horseman’s Association
Illinois Thoroughbred Breeder’s and Owner’s Foundation
Illinois Horseman’s Benevolent Protective Association
Illinois Harness Horseman’s Association
National Thoroughbred Racing Association
Arlington Park
Hawthorne National Racing Association
Fairmount Park
Balmoral/Maywood Park
Thoroughbred and Standardbred Breeding Farms throughout Illinois
Public Show and Pleasure Horse Stables throughout Illinois
International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 727
John Marshall Law School, Animal Law
National Horse Protection Coalition
Illinois Hooved Animal Humane Society
ASPCA
Humane Society of the United States
Central Illinois Humane Society
Illinois Humane Society
Society for Protective Animal Legislation
The Doris Day Animal League
The American Horse Defense Fund
The Fund For Horses
Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation
C.A.N.T.E.R. (horse adoption)
RERUN (horse adoption)
Crosswinds Equine Rescue   
Blue Horse Charities
Pam Kuhl Horse Transportation
Drexler Horse Transportation
Equine Veterinarians throughout Illinois

As you can see, our list of supporters shows the falsity of HCI’s characterization of the legislation to end horse slaughter in Illinois as being led by “animal rights” groups with “hidden agendas” and fueled by the “horse hobbyist” and “horse-pet owners.”

Not only that, but the Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing industries in Illinois, who stand to the forefront of our supporters are certainly not among the Top Ten favorite industries of PETA or any other animal rights groups.

Thus, I can only conclude that your false theory as to who opposes horse slaughter is designed as a scare tactic, used to further your own agenda. What might that agenda be? It can only be one thing: to retain your ability to capitalize financially on horse slaughter, at the expense of the entire Illinois horse industry and the lives of horses from Illinois and other states. Where I come from, we call it “greed.”

Your false theory has allowed you to draw the equally false conclusion that ending horse slaughter will open the door to the abolition of horse racing, horse showing and rodeos.  That, too, is irrational and groundless--not based on logic or fact, but on the false premise that animal-rights extremists are behind SB 1921.

Horses = Pigs and Cows?

HCI’s document contends that ending horse slaughter in Illinois “could” lead to the end of the slaughter of all animals used for food.  This is “yellow journalism” at its lowest. Having no legitimate arguments with which to support its position,
HCI has resorted to making baseless charges.  This ridiculous assertion is nothing short of a direct insult to the intelligence of the good people of Illinois and of our honored Illinois elected officials.  I, for one, have the utmost confidence that our state legislature will protect my rights as a meat eating American citizen, to eat beef, pork, chicken or the meat of any other animal
that is raised for food and legal to consume in our state.

In closing,  I will say, with all due respect, when one calls a document a white paper ,one should be careful to research and report the real facts. The essence of a “white paper” is that its facts can be proved. The piece published on the Horsemen’s Council of Illinois website is nothing more than a heap of  baseless, factless, truthless, unresearched, undocumented and unsubstantiated claims of those eager to turn a quick profit.

We the professional horseman of Illinois, have expended tremendous resources both in researching and documenting the facts regarding all of the issues relevant to the horse slaughter trade, and the facts soundly disprove every baseless, factless argument contained in the HCI document.  

The supporters of SB 1921 have both truth and proof on our side to support our position.

Furthermore, I feel it important to remind the HCI that the economic health of the $3.8 billion Illinois horse industry is sustained by the production and use of live horses, as well as the production of goods and services necessary to sustain them.

The horse industry in Illinois was thriving long before a horse slaughter plant came to town, it has flourished in the past two years, when there was no horse slaughter plant, and it will continue to thrive and flourish long after horse slaughter is banned.
No need to worry, HCI: the real horseman in Illinois will see to the success of our industry, just as we always have.     

We the professional horseman of Illinois, are disappointed by the position taken by the of the Horsemen’s Council of Illinois. HCI should be looking out for the best interests of horses. Instead, HCI has chosen to look out for the best interests of their own individual pockets.

Come on HCI, fess up; if you quit your overbreeding and and your irresponsible horse husbandry practices you will do just fine economically. Then you won’t need to slaughter your horses for that last, fast $200.

Horse slaughter exists for one reason in this country and one reason alone, greed.  The greed of the foreign owned companies who line their pockets with profits from the blood of our American horses, and the greed of the very small handful of irresponsible horse owners who allow it.

Truthfully,

Gail Vacca
National Horse Protection Coalition
16217 State Route 23
DeKalb, IL 60115