frank_lautenberg@lautenberg.senate.gov wrote:
Dear Ms Crumb:
Thank you for contacting me to express your concern about our Nation's horse policy. This is a very important issue and I welcome the opportunity to hear your views.
Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) and Senator John Ensign (R - NV) offered an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2006 Agriculture Appropriations bill on September 20, 2005, to protect horses from being slaughtered for meat. I co-sponsored this amendment and am pleased that the Senate passed it. The conference Committee that reconciled differences between the Senate and House Agriculture Appropriations bills retained this provision. On November 10, 2005, President Bush signed the bill into law.
On March 9, 2005, Senator Byrd introduced S. 576, a bill to reinstate the prohibition on the commercial sale of wild free-roaming horses for slaughter. I co-sponsored this bill as well, which is currently awaiting action in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
With regard to efforts being made to relocate excess wild horses and burros through adoption programs, I am concerned about the overall decline in population among these magnificent creatures during the past 30 years. I believe more must be done to protect our wild horse and burro populations through more effective management approaches, and the cruelty of horse slaughter in current practices gravely concerns me.
The "Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act" of 1971 required the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Agriculture Department's Forest Service to determine "appropriate management levels" (AMLs) for wild horses and burros on public lands. Recently, Congress amended the Act to permit the sale of 'excess' animals "without limits" if they are more than ten years of age or have been unsuccessfully offered for adoption three times.
In many cases, these excess animals have been auctioned off to buyers from foreign-owned industries, and then processed into food products. As a longtime supporter of animal rights, I am concerned about the humane treatment of these animals in slaughterhouses. Consequently, during the 108th Congress, I co-sponsored S. 2352, the "American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act," which would prohibit the slaughter of horses in the United States for human consumption.
Again, thank you for your message. Please be assured I will continue to support legislation that ensures the protection of our nation's horses.
I received a letter in the mail from United States Senator Robert Menendez on July 26, 2006
Dear Ms. Crumb,
Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition to horse slaughter. I appreciate having to opportunity to hear your views on this most important matter and I apologize for the delay in my reply.
As you may know, the House and Senate passed amendments to their respective Fiscal Year 2006 Agriculture Appropiations bills that would prevent federal funds from being used to pay the salaries of those who inspect horses for slaughter. You will be happy to know that this provision was included in the final legislation that was signed into law. You will be pleased to learn that I am also a proud co-sponsor of S. 1915, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, which would create more stringent protections against the continuing slaughter of horses for human consumption, and S. 576, which would prohibit the commercial sale and slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and burros. I have long been a strong opponent of horse slaughter, and throughout my tenure in Congress I have worked diligently to try to curb this practice. Please be assured I will continue to work with my colleagues to protect horses and pass legislation to reduce their slaughter.
Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. This issue is very important to me and I appreciate your support. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I may be of more assistance and visit my Website (http://menendez.senate.gov).
Sincerely,
Robert Menendez
United States Senator
We are lucky to live in a state that is co-sponsored by both of these Senators.
Please email each of them and give them a gentle reminder of how important it is to get S 1915 out of the Commerce Committee and onto the Senate floor so they can vote and stop the slaughters.
Keep in mind that this is an election year for Senator Menendez.
All Senators who are up for re-election will drag their heels but those who co-sponsor or support the bill will vote for it.
Two very important websites I need to list, you can email them through the sites, we need to get in touch with their Washington D.C. offices.
The Humane Society Of The United States www.hsus.org
The American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals www.aspca.org
Thank you all for all you are doing for our horses.
