U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), with three of his House colleagues, introduced legislation on Wednesday that would permanently ban the killing of horses in the U.S. for human consumption.
The bill also would make it illegal to export living horses across the border to Mexico or Canada to be killed in slaughterhouses and shipped overseas for food.
In 2014, over 150,000 U.S. horses, the vast majority of which were healthy and robust, were slaughtered in Canada or Mexico and shipped to countries such as Italy and Japan, where horse meat is seen as a delicacy, studies have said.
“The slaughter of horses for human consumption is an absolute travesty that must be stopped,” Buchanan said. He also said that because it can be dangerously full of unregulated drugs, horse meat is unhealthy and can even be toxic to humans. “This bipartisan measure will help put an end to this barbaric practice once and for all,” Buchanan said.
Although the sale of horse meat for human consumption already is banned in the U.S., there is currently no federal law to prevent the transport of horses across U.S. borders for slaughter in Canada or Mexico. The majority of horses killed for export are young, healthy animals that reportedly face horrific abuse before and during their slaughter.
Buchanan’s bill, the SAFE Act, which is also sponsored by a number of other legislators from both parties, also has received the backing of nearly 30 animal-advocacy organizations in Florida, including the Sarasota Manatee Association for Riding Therapy, which is based in Buchanan’s congressional district.
“Until the SAFE Act is passed, every horse is just one bad sale away from slaughter,” Nancy Perry, senior vice president of ASPCA Government Relations, said. “We thank Representative Buchanan and the other leaders of the SAFE Act for their efforts to protect not only public health, but also safeguard our nation’s equines.”