Congress' Top Issue This Week? Horse Slaughtering.

[JABBS]

No joke. Click here for more.

[savemefromdumbya]

1. whatever happened to immigration?

[Debau2005]

2. I know this is not top priority right now

however many of us have fought long and hard for this. We had good legislation banning horse slaughter for human consumption before and the USDA did an end run around it.

To me this is better then seeing them debate who to name the next holiday over!

[JABBS]

3. yeah, but

... there are spending bills that need to be passed, immigration reform to vote on, the dems want the no-confidence in rumsfeld vote.

When you have 15 days left in the legislative calendar, horse slaughtering should not be on the top of the to-do list, no?

[Debau2005]

5. Agreed,

But like I said, I would rather see this then the who's getting a holiday bill! They have certainly wasted their time on less important issues!

We all know that they are not going to debate too many hot button issues right now, they have elections to worry about, and immigration is a debate they can't win.

[JABBS]

7. House is scheduled to meet for just 79 days this year

and only 19 more this year.

Just thought I'd mention that.

[jilln]

4. And it's about time.

It's a life or death issue. And it's a quality of life issue. And it's a power of the people issue, because the people have won this battle repeatedly, only to have it taken away from us by unethical maneuvers.

With all the harm we do to animals and the environment, why you begrudge them a single day in government is beyond me.

On edit: And thanks for reminding me, tomorrow is the national call-in day on the subject. I will post a separate item about it.

[JABBS]

6. i don't begrudge them a single day in government

I begrudge them picking this single day in government.

I don't know. I guess defense spending bills, a no-confidence vote on rumsfeld, the fight over immigration reform, any number of issues on the economy, stem cells, homeland security, the minimum wage, the estate tax, etc., just have greater ramifications on the november elections, and might be bigger priorities.

i live in horse country, but i've never thought about rules on horse slaughtering.

[Debau2005]

8. This issue has been out there

for a while. We had it won last year, but the USDA and the packing plants went around the legislation, and we had to basically start over.

One of the issues is that we are slaughtering our horses to be exported for human consumption overseas. If they want to eat horse meat, let them slaughter their own!

A big issue for horse owners, is that horses are stolen and sold for slaughter, this is a big business in the areas around the slaughter houses. They are supposed to check for brands, tattoos, etc but they never do. You should also know that people have been known to buy Wild Mustangs just to sell them for slaughter. These are national treasures that are being allowed to become threatened. This practice has been hampered by some new laws, luckily. I am sure that some are still finding ways around it.

[JABBS]

9. i made an adjustment to the JABBS story

Just a question: Is this a big issue in Western states in particular (Wyoming, for example), and if so, is it an election issue?

I was really in the dark on this one. I wonder how many other people are.

[Debau2005]

13. I don't know about Western States

I am in the Metro Atlanta area of Georgia. This is an election issue in my House District. I live and work in the Horse Country of Atlanta. Our Representative Tom Price voted against banning horse slaughter in the first vote. My Republican friends that thought Tom Price was GREAT, were suddenly stunned, and have now vowed to vote against him in November.

I am using the upcoming vote against him if he votes against the ban again. Both of my Republican Senators voted for the ban. The only time I have ever agreed with them.

This is a specialty issue, so if you aren't an animal activist or a horse owner you may not know.

Here are some links:
http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/equine_protection/get_the_facts_on_horse_slaughter.html
https://secure2.convio.net/aspca/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr006=z08z38nqc1.app17a&pagename=homepage&id=2017
http://www.hr857.com/
http://www.horse-protection.org/info.php?id=14


It is suspected that Ferdinand, who won the Kentucky Derby in 1986 was slaughtered for his meat.
http://www.hsus.org/pets/pets_related_news_and_events/the_sport_of_kings_cant_provide_a_royal_ending_for_derby_winner_ferdinand.html

[jilln]

10. So we should wait for all those things to be solved first?

Maybe before we do immigration, though, we should cure cancer. But before cancer, birth defects. But before that, world peace.

No one should dare care about anything until world peace is achieved! That is the number one priority! Everything else is a waste of time.

[JABBS]

11. you're missing my point

My point is the legislative season is almost done, and there are a host of things that should have been dealt with by now (either approved or not).

So, yes this is important, but it's hard for me to believe this is the most important issue of the week, at a time when there's almost no time left on the legislative calendar.

[jilln]

12. That is the point

There's always something else, so the horses keep dying.