Equines

It’s both sad and gross at the same time. After nearly two weeks of trying to reassure the public that Burger King’s products were safe, the fast food giant just announced that an internal investigation confirmed that burgers containing horse meat have been sold in its United Kingdom locations!

Rumors of the contamination were first triggered by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland after it found horse meat in the frozen beef burgers of several major grocery suppliers in Ireland and the UK. The contaminated meat is from the Ireland-based processing company Silvercrest, which is a subsidiary of ABP Food Group.

"These recent revelations of horse meat in European hamburgers are proof that the predatory horse slaughter industry isn't worried about who it victimizes—horses and diners are all at risk," says Nancy Perry, Senior Vice President of ASPCA Government Relations. “In addition to the inherent cruelty of horse slaughter, the toxicity of horse meat is a big problem. We’ve become increasingly aware of all the drugs routinely given to horses that are dangerous to humans and banned for use in animals raised for human consumption.”

Take Action!
This incident happened across the ocean, but horses are at risk of terrifying, inhumane deaths at slaughterhouses right here at home: Horse slaughter proponents are taking drastic steps to re-open horse slaughter plants in the United States! Please visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center to urge U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to reject any application to operate a horse slaughter facility in the U.S.

Thank you for taking action!

Guest blog by Nancy Perry, Senior Vice President of Government Relations

Yesterday was the National Day of the Horse, designated by the U.S. Senate in 2004 as a day for “people of the United States to be mindful of the contribution of horses to the economy, history and character of the United States.” This led me to take stock of how our nation is doing when it comes to equine protection. While there have been advances in horse protection, much work remains to be done.

A 2012 national poll found that 80% of American voters oppose horse slaughter. Even though the last domestic horse slaughter plants have closed, the slaughter of American horses has continued in Canada and Mexico. Attempts made this year to resume horse slaughter in the U.S. were thwarted by massive public opposition. Legislation to ban these practices awaits action in Congress.

This spring, media attention focused on the plight of racehorses.  A New York Times investigation detailed the tragedies befalling these equine athletes as a result of widespread drugging. Congress quickly introduced legislation to address this root cause of catastrophic injuries, and we continue to press for its passage.

We worked to draft a new piece of legislation to clamp down on “soring”—the practice of inflicting pain in horses’ legs and hooves so severe that they move with an unnaturally high-stepping gait.  This new bill was introduced in Congress this year to amend the Horse Protection Act and end soring once and for all.

While New York City continues to allow the shameful and dangerous practice of driving carriage horses on congested city streets, the ASPCA has backed a pilot program to replace those vulnerable animals with vintage, electric cars. This project is gaining momentum but has not yet replaced the antiquated urban horse-drawn carriage. We continue seeking ways to implement alternatives to the suffering of these noble creatures.

Though Congress recognized wild horses as living symbols of the American West in 1971, competition for public land use has threatened the welfare of our last mustangs. In 2004, a backroom deal led to the amendment of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act permitting the sale of these iconic animals for the first time. This exception allowed over 1,700 mustangs to be sold to notorious pro-slaughter buyer Tom Davis (a devastating discovery made earlier this year). Many fear those horses were sent to slaughter, despite the Bureau of Land Management’s policy against such an action. In response to this incident, the agency just announced reforms to prevent such tragedies in the future—but it may be too little, too late. The ASPCA calls for an end to the sales program and a return to the preservation focus of the Act.

In 2004, when the U.S. Senate recognized December 13 as the National Day of the Horse, it called America to action, stating “horses are a vital part of the collective experience of the United States and deserve protection and compassion.” We at the ASPCA pledge to remain committed to this challenge and will ensure you know when and how you can join us in fighting for our beloved horses.

From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank you. A few weeks ago, we told you about the hay emergency facing American horse caregivers this year. We told you that persistent drought has put hay in dangerously short supply, and that if we don’t pull together and do something, horses will die.

We asked you to help us feed horses by contributing to our Hay Bale-Out initiative, and we were overwhelmed by the generosity of those who answered our call.

Here’s what happened next.

We told equine rescue groups the good news: The ASPCA has your back, and we can provide hay to help get your horses through the winter. We asked them to tell us what they needed.

Since then, equine groups have been flooding us with requests.

We’re deep in the process of working closely with these groups to meet their hay needs, and our equine rescue friends tell us this assistance couldn’t come at a better time.

“This year is setting up to become a ‘perfect storm’ for equine neglect, as we are already seeing a huge increase in calls and skinny horses,” Gail Vacca of the Illinois Equine Humane Center told us. “Thank goodness many will find relief due to the efforts and support of the ASPCA.”

We’re so grateful for your help feeding horses this year. If you haven’t yet given to this critical effort, it’s not too late! Every little bit counts, and it all goes directly to feeding horses.

Watch ASPCA.org for updates on this life-saving project, and if you haven’t already, consider being a part of it.

Tennessee Walking Horses desperately need your help. These majestic and gentle-natured creatures are a breed of horse famous for their distinctive, smooth, high-stepping walk. Sadly, a cruel and illegal procedure called “soring” is all too frequently used to elicit an exaggerated movement, called the “big lick,” in order to win prizes at horse shows.

Soring is the gruesome practice of using chemicals and painful devices to injure a horse’s front limbs, making any contact with the ground so painful that the horse quickly jerks up his legs to relieve the pressure. Soring causes such intense pain that its victims often cannot stand for several days afterward.

Although soring was banned nationwide in 1970, inadequate legal penalties and lax enforcement have allowed this cruel practice to continue. A new bill, H.R. 6388, will address these inadequacies by amending the federal Horse Protection Act and improving protections for horses from soring, and we need your help in building support for this critical legislation!

What You Can Do
Please contact your U.S. representative and urge him/her to cosponsor H.R. 6388 and support strong amendments to the Horse Protection Act to better protect horses from soring.

Visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center online right now to contact your U.S. representative in Washington, D.C. There are only a few working days left in this Congress, so time is of the essence!