From: TerryWatt

Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2003 8:43 PM

Subject: Re: Horse-slaughter bill won't affect Cavel's decision.

The issue of rebuilding of Cavel's horse slaughterhouse is important to thousands of Americans who do not reside in the state of Illinois as the majority of horses slaughtered at Cavel will be trucked in from out of state from around the country.

Horses are not considered a food-producing animal in the U.S. so his industry is actually loosely regulated, specifically in regards to drugs. Every day horses are given a variety of drugs labeled "Not for use in horses intended for food." No horse in the U.S. is intended for food. One of the most commonly given drugs is the anti-inflammatory Phenylbutazone, it is the aspirin of the horse industry.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association:

"For animals, phenylbutazone is currently approved only for oral and injectable use in dogs and horses. It is not approved for use in any food-producing animal, and its labeled use in horses is limited to horses not intended for food."

Who distinguishes which U.S. horses are intended for food and which are not? The fact is none are intended for food and no horses are restricted from being given a variety of drugs labeled "Not for use in horses intended for food" including other popular horse drugs such as Penicillin and the dewormer Ivermectin. All wear the warning label.

One steer found to have Phenylbutazone residues after it had been processed at the packers and mixed with other processed meat for that day resulted in the FDA's condemning 30,000 pounds of beef. Drug residue testing is not done on U.S. horsemeat as horses are not considered food-producing animals. U.S. horsemeat would never pass FDA drug residue testing for U.S. consumers, it would be found to be adulterated and unsanitary under Section 402(a)(4) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Also a drug residue test on one horse cannot be representative of any other horse as independent slaughter buyers purchase horses a few at at time at various auctions around the country, their medication histories completely unknown, unlike a herd of cattle from a specified ranch who's vet is required to keep drug records for 2 years, so every horse would require drug residue testing to ensure safety to the consumer.

This statement is ridiculous. We are not members of Peta, we are horseowners and American citizens who are working to rid America of these 3 little foreign companies so to end the inhumane butchering of American horses to satisfy the tastes of the French and Belgians. To continue to allow this is an American disgrace and we will not rest until we've accomplished our goal.

As far as horses being "sent" to slaughter....... men known as "killer buyers" comb horse auctions and answer classified ads. One killer buyer in Texas admitted to the Dallas Observer of telling a child he was buying her horse for a summer camp riding program. He also stated his business plan is elementary: "I'll buy any horse that will make me money. Simple as that." He doesn't miss any of the weekly horse auctions within a 200 mile radius, he starts the bid on every horse, and says he has plenty of competition. Killer buyers competitively bid against regular horse buyers, they may only make $50 per horse over what they paid when they get to the slaughterhouse but for a load of 40 or so horses this equals a $2000 profit. This is the reality of how horses get "sent" to slaughter.

AVMA: Phenylbutazone is known to induce blood dyscrasias, including aplastic anemia, leukopenia, agranulocytosis, and thrombocytopenia, and can result in death. Hypersensitivity reactions of the serum-sickness type have also been reported. In addition, phenylbutazone is a carcinogen, as determined by the National Toxicology Program.