News Release!!!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: John Holland

Vicki Tobin
Governor Schweitzer goes to Derby, leaves slaughter bill to become law

On Friday, May 1st, Governor Brian Schweitzer packed up and left his office to head for the Kentucky Derby. On his desk, he left HB 418, a bill designed to encourage the building of a horse slaughter plant in Montana! The bill was designed to lure a horse slaughter plant to Montana by effectively preventing Montana citizens from challenging such a facility in the state courts.

The Governor had initially issued an amendatory veto of the bill, pointing out that it was almost certainly unconstitutional, but the legislature sent it back to him without his suggested amendments. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ed Butcher, was quick to praise the Governor’s act of surrender.

In an interview published in The Horse, Butcher dismissed the idea that his bill was unconstitutional. He went on to explain his misguided belief that the role of the courts is more like that of movie critics, saying, "Courts have the right to offer an opinion about legislation--they do not have the right to make law. That's the legislature's job."

Butcher has said these safeguards [taking away the access of citizens to the courts] were needed to avoid the types of legal appeals that shuttered the country's last horse slaughterhouses in Illinois and Texas in 2007.

In an earlier article “Showdown at Horse Slaughter Pass”, EWA’s John Holland used the metaphor that Butcher was trying to “tie the citizens of Montana to the tracks”, and pondered whether the Governor would save the day. But alas, the Governor had his mind on the Kentucky Derby and left the citizens to their fate. Luckily, Butcher’s bill ties them to the wrong tracks.

Although the plants were cited repeatedly for pollution, sewer and discharge violations, all three plants were shut down by state laws.

The Belgian Velda Corporation’s Natural Meats plant in Saskatchewan, Canada is the most probable target of Butcher’s overtures. Their operating license was indeed suspended in December over unspecified health violations but by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, not a law suit.

Since no slaughter plant can legally slaughter horses in the US for human consumption, the bill’s only real impact may be the statement it makes about Montana, its legislature and its governor.

Harvest or Slaughter: Still the Killing of America's Horses

Agriculture Associations Misrepresent Horse Slaughter

Contacts: John Holland & Vicki Tobin

CHICAGO, (EWA) - At a time when Americans are experiencing the worst economic period in most of our life-times, Cattle and Agriculture Associations have taken the economic downturn as an opportunity to further the agenda of promoting horse slaughter. The word slaughter has been replaced with the word “Harvest” to portray crops that have ripened and need to be gleaned. Although there is no market in the US for the crop, proponents of this fraud want to ensure healthy horses are killed so there is a continuous supply of meat on the hoof that must continually be shipped to overseas markets that Americans do not own nor profit. This is referred to as the never ending cycle of breed and dump.

Using a benign word such as Harvest, a word we all cherish, is an insult and outrage to horse lovers everywhere. This fraud attempts to reduce the horse, the animal which in partnership with man built this nation – attempts to reduce the horse to a commodity such as corn, wheat, barley, or oats.

Not only are the cattle and agriculture associations promoting horse “harvesting” but organizations such as the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) and the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) are often quoted and named in their articles and speeches as supporters and misuse the word harvest to portray a cruel process which they attempt to mask with a word with pleasant associations in the American vocabulary..

These are the very organizations that are entrusted to promote equine welfare and care. They are organizations that have seen recent results of three year long U.S. Department of Agriculture Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) probe by animal cruelty investigator Julie Caramante which resulted in the release of photos and reports from investigations of the department that clearly depict the cruelty and abuse inherent with the entire horse killing process FOIA Reports. The three year cover-up by the USDA has been dubbed by some in the media “Slaughtergate”. It is hardly a harvest.

Horses are not food animals in America. They are trusted work, service, sport, therapy and companion animals. It is time for Americans to stand up and end the hold the predatory foreign market has on the American Equine Industry. It is time for Americans to stand up and let their legislators know that horses are not crops, and that it is imperative that The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009 be passed swiftly and without hesitation by the Congress and signed into law by President Obama.

Horses are not a vegetable crop. They aren’t even food. Would you harvest your dog, your cat, or yes, even your gerbil? Tell these organizations it’s just fine to promote their belief that killing horses for profit is the American way, but at least they should be honest in the language they use to describe this unspeakably cruel act where horses are hung upside down to bleed to death after their throat is cut, an act in which their hooves are often removed while they are still conscious.

For information on legislative activity, visit: Legislative Activity

Calling All Illinoisians

PLEASE CROSS POST FAR AND WIDE!

Hi, folks. Please take a minute on Monday, Tuesday and/or Wednesday morning to call, fax and email the below committee members. Please be sure to read the synopsis. Sacia is removing every regulation and is basically saying if it’s moving, slaughter it. I have listed the committee members below the information on the bill. We must stop this bill!

Here’s the bill HB 583

Short Description: ANIMALS--HORSE MEATHouse SponsorsRep. Jim SaciaHearings
Agriculture & Conservation Committee Hearing Feb 18 2009 2:00PM Capitol Building Room 122B Springfield, IL
Last Action
Date
Chamber
Action
2/11/2009
House
Assigned to Agriculture & Conservation Committee
Statutes Amended In Order of Appearance
225 ILCS 635/13.1 new

225 ILCS 635/1.5 rep.

410 ILCS 605/2.1
from Ch. 8, par. 107.1

510 ILCS 65/4
from Ch. 8, par. 954

510 ILCS 70/5
from Ch. 8, par. 705

510 ILCS 70/7.5

510 ILCS 75/2
from Ch. 8, par. 229.52
Synopsis As IntroducedAmends the Illinois Horse Meat Act. Restores language that exempted certain types of horse meat from regulation under the Act. Repeals a provision that prohibits the slaughter of horses for human consumption. Amends the Animals Intended for Food Act. Expands the definition of "animal" to include "horses, mules, or other equidae". Amends the Illinois Equine Infectious Anemia Control Act. Allows equidae more than 12 months of age to enter the State for immediate slaughter without a certificate of veterinary inspection. Requires equidae entering the State for immediate slaughter to be accompanied by a consignment direct to slaughter at an approved equine slaughtering establishment. Amends the Humane Care for Animals Act. Creates an exemption from the general prohibition against selling, offering to sell, leading, riding, transporting, or driving on any public way any equidae that, because of debility, disease, lameness or any other cause, could not be worked in this State. Deletes a provision that prohibited injured equidae from being sent directly to a slaughter facility. Amends the Humane Slaughter of Livestock Act. Deletes a provision in the definition of the term "livestock" that excludes "horses, mules, or other equidae to be used in and for the preparation of meat or meat products for consumption by human beings". Imposes conditions on any rulemaking authority. Effective immediately.Actions
Date
Chamber
Action
2/5/2009
House
Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Jim Sacia
2/6/2009
House
First Reading
2/6/2009
House
Referred to Rules Committee
2/11/2009
House
Assigned to Agriculture & Conservation Committee


Here is a list of the committee members. You can click the names for the contact information. Just in case the links don’t work, you can go to this page and click the names http://www.ilga.gov/house/committees/members.asp?committeeID=626

Agriculture & Conservation Committee - Members96th General Assembly
Members
Notice of Hearing
Bills



Role
Representative
Party
Chairperson :
Brandon W. Phelps
D
Vice-Chairperson :
Patrick J Verschoore
D
Republican Spokesperson :
Jim Sacia
R
Member:
John D. Cavaletto
R
Member:
Shane Cultra
R
Member:
Lisa M. Dugan
D
Member:
Robert F. Flider
D
Member:
Mary E. Flowers
D
Member:
Julie Hamos
D
Member:
Donald L. Moffitt
R
Member:
Richard P. Myers
R
Member:
David Reis
R
Member:
Dan Reitz
D

Finally a response from Senator Durbin about the BLM and wild horses

Below is the response to my email that I got from Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois. I wrote him when the BLM was talking about killing the wild horses because of lack of funding. You can see by his response that he thinks the BLM is doing a good job. At one time Senator Durbin was a co-sponsor for anti slaughter bills. I wonder who got to him.





January 21, 2009


Dear Mrs. Jirik:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the treatment of wild horses and burros by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). I appreciate hearing from you.

A number of animal rights and conservation groups have expressed concerns about the BLM program that removes wild horses and burros from our federal lands.

For more than 35 years, the BLM has managed wild horses and burros on public lands. When populations of wild horses and burros are found to exceed the appropriate management levels for a given area, selected animals are gathered by the Bureau of Land Management and put up for adoption.

In recent years, adoption rates have declined due to the skyrocketing costs of feed and fuel, leaving an increased number of wild horses and burros under the care of BLM. Unfortunately, funding for the Wild Horse and Burro program has not kept pace with the increasing demands on its resources.
BLM's July 2008 announcement of a proposal to euthanize horses and burros that are not adopted drew strong public criticism.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress, has conducted an investigation into BLM's management of wild horses and burros. GAO found that the program will be sustainable over the long term only if BLM revises its current practices and considers a broader range of available options, including euthanasia and sales without limitations, for dealing with those animals unable to be adopted.

The agency's National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board has recommended a number of alternative ways to manage the number of animals currently in BLM holding facilities. The advisory board also recommended that unadopted animals be offered for sale without limitations or humanely euthanized only as a last resort.

BLM has not made a final decision regarding the use of euthanasia or alternative methods to manage the animals under their care. I will keep your concerns in mind.

Thank you again for sharing your views with me. Please feel free to keep in touch.
Sincerely,


Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator

RJD/hw

We the People of Illinois. . .

This is how the People of Illinois felt about horses when Carvel was slaughtering them in great numbers. And this is how we still feel about horses now that Carvel is out of Illinois. Let us not forget why we got into this fight to save the horses; let us not forget their suffering and let us not forget they are still suffering the horrors of slaughter. We will fight until they are all safe!




PREFACE TO THE ILLINOIS antislaughter LAW - it precedes the first section, 225 ILCS 635/1.5. [This is the law that made DeKalb shut down. . . ]
*******************************
WHEREAS, The People of the State of Illinois find and declare that:
(a) The horse is a living symbol of the spirit, rugged independence, and tireless energy of our pioneer heritage;
(b) Horses have served us in war, carried us into the West and beyond, hauled our goods on their backs and in wagons, and entertained and partnered with man for thousands of years;
(c) The horse is a part of Illinois' rich heritage, having played a major role in Illinois' historical growth and development;
(d) Horses contribute significantly to the enjoyment of generations of recreation enthusiasts in Illinois, while contributing tremendous economic benefit;
(e) Horses are not raised for food or fiber and are taxed differently than food animals; and
(f) Horses can be stolen, or purchased without disclosure or under false pretenses, to be slaughtered or shipped for slaughter; and this practice has contributed to crime and consumer fraud; and
WHEREAS, The General Assembly hereby also declares the purpose and intent of this amendatory Act to be as follows:
(a) To recognize the horse as an important part of Illinois' heritage that deserves protection from those who would slaughter horses for food for human consumption; and
(b) To enact into law that which has been widely accepted for generations in this State: it is immoral and unlawful to slaughter horses in this State to be used for food for human consumption;
therefore
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, . . .[etc and then it goes into the law itself - the law that shut down DeKalb and was upheld by the federal courts].




Just substitute "United States" where it says "Illinois" and there you have it . . .

Please Take Action Against DD Trailers for Equines

This is an Alert!

Legislation Being Introduced to the 111th Congress- HR 305
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.305:

Stop Inhumane Horse Transport

Doubler decker trailers are designed for short-necked species, such as cattle and hogs, not horses. However, current federal law allows horses to be transported in these trailers to any destination other than slaughter plants.
Since these trailers are not meant to carry horses, frequently the top deck of the trailer will collapse, resulting in horrific injuries and even death. Just last year, a double decker trailer carrying 59 young Belgian horses overturned on an Illinois highway, killing 17 horses and injuring dozens of others.
Fortunately, Representatives Kirk (R-IL) and Cohen (D-TN) introduced, H.R. 305, the Horse Transportation Safety Act, to ban the use of double decker trailers for all horse transport.
TAKE ACTIONPlease make a brief, polite phone call to your U.S. Representative to urge support for H.R. 305 to prohibit double decker trailers for horse transport. You can reach your Representative through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 or click here to look up your Representative and the phone number.
After making your call, fill in and submit the form on the right to automatically send an email to your U.S. Representative. Remember to personalize the email message by expressing your opinion in your own words; it's much more effective.

A Note From One of Our Illinois Allies

I thought I might post a note from one of our allies in the House. She is Jan Schakowsky, the 9th District, of Evanston. Please notice that her first letter is about the closing of Cavel from June 16, 2008.

http://www.house.gov/schakowsky/ SCHAKOWSKY RESPONDS TO SUPREME COURT’S DECISION NOT TO HEAR APPEAL OF ILLINOIS HORSE SLAUGHTER BAN Washington, D.C.—U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) released the following statement today in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision not to hear Cavel International’s appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals’ decision to uphold the constitutionality of Illinois’ law to ban horse slaughter. The Cavel International Horse Slaughter plant located in Dekalb, Illinois was allowed to continue to operate during the first appeals process.
“Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court is a major victory for animal welfare advocates and horses. The decision finally puts a stop to Cavel’s endless appeals to challenge the constitutionality of the Illinois law. For over a year, Cavel manipulated the legal process in order to continue slaughtering horses even though the plant knew it would eventually have to comply with the law. Unfortunately, thousands of American horses were slaughtered while Cavel tied up this issue in the courts.
While the Supreme Court’s decision reinforces the right of states to ban horse slaughter, it also renews calls for a federal standard to eliminate the need for individual state bans and protracted legal battles. I hope that today’s decision will inspire Congress to pass the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. My bipartisan bill would ban horse slaughter in the U.S. and prohibit the export of horses for slaughter abroad. I urge my colleagues in Congress to follow Illinois, California and Texas by passing my bill and getting it signed into law.”
U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky – 9th District, Illinois

E-Newsletter January 9, 2009


VIEW FROM THE HILL

Dear Friend,

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to address pay discrimination against women. As the Democratic Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Women’s Issues, I was proud to speak in support of both of the bills on the House floor. The Democratic-led Congress under the leadership of Speaker Pelosi demonstrated its commitment toward ending gender discrimination by passing those bills during the first week of the 111th Congress.

The Paycheck Fairness Act will strengthen the Equal Pay Act and close the loopholes that have allowed employers to avoid responsibility for discriminatory pay. The act puts gender-based discrimination on equal footing with other forms of wage discrimination by allowing women to sue for compensatory and punitive damages. Under the act, an employer would have to show that the disparity is job-related and not sex-based. It also prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who discuss or disclose salary information with their co-workers.

In 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that Lilly Ledbetter waited too long to sue her employer for pay discrimination, despite the fact that the discrimination was ongoing and that she had filed a charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as soon as she found out about the pay discrimination. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act restores the law as it was prior to the Supreme Court’s decision by clarifying that each paycheck resulting from a discriminatory pay decision would constitute a new violation of employment nondiscrimination law, and therefore, restart the clock for filing a claim.

Although the wage gap between men and women has narrowed since the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, women still only make 78 cents for every dollar earned by a man and the wage gap is even worse for minority women. As a result of the wage gap, single women are twice as likely to be in poverty as single men and millions of women are unable to retire, especially during these tough economic times.

While more work needs to be done, I believe that those bills go a long way toward leveling the playing field between men and women in the workforce.

Sincerely,

Jan
Chicago Office:5533 North Broadway, Suite 2Chicago, IL 60640Phone: (773) 506-7100Fax: (773) 506-9202
Evanston Office:820 Davis Street, Suite 105Evanston, IL 60201Phone: (847) 328-3409Fax: (847) 328-3425
Washington, DC Office:2367 Rayburn HOBWashington, DC 20515Phone: (202) 225-2111Fax: (202) 226-6890
For more information, visit: www.house.gov/schakowsky