Stop slaughtering horses

I am calling on Sen. Debbie Stabenow to ask her to support the Save America’s Forgotten Equine (“SAFE”) Act, a bill that would permanently ban the domestic slaughter of American horses as well as the export of horses for slaughter abroad.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no permanent federal ban on the slaughter of American horses. While commercially selling horse meat for human consumption is not permitted within the U.S. (only because Congress temporarily withdrew funding for U.S.D.A. horse slaughter inspections), our country still sends nearly 30,000 horses annually to Mexico and Canada to be killed for their meat. In fact, between 2001 and 2020, the U.S. contributed over 1.6 million horses to be slaughtered in these countries. We need legislative action to permanently protect these innocent animals from needless suffering.

Senator Stabenow, as the chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, has the unique opportunity to make a lasting impact on the lives of horses by passing the SAFE Act or by passing the Farm Bill with the same language. By doing so, she can protect these magnificent beings and reflect the will of the American public, the majority of whom oppose horse slaughter. As a united community, we should stand together and encourage Senator Stabenow to use her voice and help bring an end to the slaughter of innocent horses.

Maggie Marshall

(The writer is the associate legal advocacy counsel for Animal Equality.)