State and racing industry officials joined forces Thursday to announce a new effort to keep horses in New York from being sent to slaughterhouses and shipped overseas for food consumption.
State Sen. Kathy Marchione, R-Halfmoon, recently introduced legislation that would prohibit horse slaughter for human consumption and prevent horses from being transported across state lines for slaughter.
James Tedisco, R-Glenville, has co-sponsored a similar bill in the Assembly.
“Glad to see New York taking a stand on this issue said Adam Trenk, director of Rose Law Group’s Equine Law Department. “Together, with President Obama’s reinstitution of the Horse Slaughter Ban presented in his 2013 budget, it appears we are taking steps to keep these American icons from suffering.”
“In 2010, 137,984 horses were exported to Canada to be slaughtered, the vast majority of which were intended for human consumption abroad, primarily in Europe and Japan,” Marchione said. “Horses at slaughterhouses are treated with cruel indifference and subjected to unimaginable pain and suffering. Currently, it is against the law to slaughter horses specifically for dog and cat food, so why would we ever allow New York state horses to be slaughtered for human consumption, especially when many horses have received medications that are banned by the FDA for use at any time during the life of livestock animals?”
Trenk added, “The next step is to take measures to ensure people can afford to keep the horses they have and execute plans to manage the herds of unwanted horses throughout the U.S.”
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