Introduction:

             Horses have been an important part of our country's history.  They have supported people by being the pre-automobile era's fastest form of transportation.  They are a great source of jobs, of manual labor, and yet are also beneficial for pleasure riding and are known basically, for being a lovable and multi-purpose pet in America.  Think of how many children grew up wanting a horse.  Horses are so integrated into our culture that wanting a horse is practically a rite of passage in growing up with the American Dream.  Would we sell that dream for $20 per pound, in funds that would not materialize for us anyway?  The money, after all, plays into the hands of the Belgian and French (not American) companies that own the remaining equine slaughterhouses in the United States.  Both wild and tame horses alike deserve more respect than to be sold out to a Belgian company for their meat.

             On September 7, 2006, the House of Representatives voted in favor of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act with a majority (263 to 146), which entails banning "the slaughter of horses for human consumption and the domestic and international transport of live horses or horseflesh for the same purpose." (excerpted from saplonline.org)  In order for this law to be passed completely, the Senate needs to also vote in favor of it.

            The Sweeney-Spratt-Rahall-Whitfield amendment may very well end the slaughter of horses in the United States by insisting that money from taxes not be used to fund U.S. Department of Agriculture’s inspections of horse slaughterhouses.

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