The House of Representatives is set to vote Sept. 7 on the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, which would ban the killing of horses for human consumption, especially in foreign markets. Animal-rights organizations are urging action from members and horse lovers, and a celebrity-supported rally will be held in Washington, D.C. However, some maintain that the bill could “shut down an industry that provides a practical public service: disposal of the remains of dead horses” and prevent farmers from selling their horses or even using nails in horseshoes.
In February 2005, Deanne Stillman examined the Bush administration’s treatment of America’s wild-horse population and found it wanting. “George W. Bush styles himself a cowboy president. One job of cowboys is to claim the American wilderness for ranching, so it’s little surprise the Bush administration is behind a new effort to suppress—and perhaps slaughter—one of the last symbols of untamed America: our wild horses.” Click here to read Stillman’s article on the slaughter of the last of the West’s wild horses.
