Wild Horse Protection Bill Approved by Committee
Press Release
Wild Horse Protection Bill Approved by Committee
March 7, 2007
CONTACT: Allyson Ivins Groff, 202-226-9019
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Legislation to reinstate a ban on the commercial sale and
senseless slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and burros was approved by
Members of the House Natural Resources Committee today, advancing the
restoration of more than 30 years of federal policy protecting the iconic
wild horses that roam our nation's vast public lands.
"Horses have long been a living symbol of the American West. When Americans
picture the West, I highly doubt they envision wild horses being rounded up
and sent to commercial slaughterhouses to be processed into cuisine for
foreign diners. I am pleased that this Committee recognizes the
irreplaceable value that Americans place on our wild horses," said U.S. Rep.
Nick J. Rahall, Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and the
chief sponsor of the legislation.
H.R. 249, which has received bipartisan support, will restore the
prohibition on the sale and slaughter of wild horses and burros that was
eliminated by a provision inserted into the Fiscal Year 2005 omnibus
appropriations bill. Enacted in 1971, the original law directed the Bureau
of Land Management and the Forest Service to enforce the protection of wild
horses on public lands.
The current policy fails to recognize the fact that humane alternatives to
slaughter do exist. Federal agencies have the authority to take measures
such as adoption, sterilization, relocation, or placement with qualified
individuals and organizations.
Similar legislation was introduced by Rahall and successfully passed by the
House in 2005 and 2006, but those bills were not ultimately signed into law.
"It is our duty to stop this senseless and inhumane policy to prevent more
wild horses from being rounded up and slaughtered as a result of an
ill-advised and misguided federal policy. We owe no less to this powerful,
lasting symbol of the American frontier and our nation's spirit," Rahall
said.
Karen A. Sussman
President, ISPMB
PO Box 55
Lantry, SD 57636-0055
Tel: 605.964.6866
Cell: 605.365.6991
Saving America's Wild Horses and Burros since 1960
ISPMB
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Lead from 2 beads Correspondent Teresa Anahuy
Contents
March 2007 Reports
Last updated on March 07, 2007