Federal legislation that would permanently ban horse slaughter in the U.S. and end the export of American horses for slaughter abroad was on Wednesday's agenda at the U.S. House Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Energy and Commerce's hearing of “Improving Safety and Transparency in America's Food and Drugs.” The legislation, which was introduced by Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) in 2019, is included in the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act (H.R. 961).
“I am grateful to Chairwoman Eshoo for including the SAFE Act in today's hearing,” stated Rep. Schakowsky. “The SAFE Act is vital for the health of consumers and wellbeing of horses. Horses are ingrained in our national story and deserve far better than being exported in inhumane conditions for slaughter. Many of the substances used to treat horses are banned by the FDA, making horsemeat dangerous for human consumption. As a lifelong advocate for consumer protection and animal welfare, I welcome the focus on this legislation.”
Among the groups represented during the Subcommittee hearing, Nancy Perry, senior vice president of Government Relations for the ASPCA, said: “The ASPCA is working resolutely in concert with other organizations across the country to solve equine welfare issues on the ground, but we cannot fully succeed while the slaughter pipeline remains open. With the strong support of the American public and a clear FDA mandate to regulate and ban toxic substances routinely given to horses that threaten public health, it is time to end the slaughter of American horses for human consumption. We thank the committee for hearing this legislation, and we urge Congress to pass the SAFE Act to protect our horses as well as public health.”
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