U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow

731 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-2204

Dear Senator Stabenow:

I am writing on behalf of Friends of Animals, an international animal advocacy organization founded in 1957.

Please do not be fooled by the current language of the Federal Save America’s Forgotten Equines Act (H.R. 3475/S.2037), which was introduced as an amendment to the Farm Bill of 2023.

Loopholes in the 2023 version of the SAFE Act will circumvent its purpose of saving America’s beloved equines from being shipped out of the country to be slaughtered (see fact sheet included with this letter from our allies at Equine Advocates).

The SAFE Act only addresses human consumption and export of live horses for that purpose. Without also prohibiting the slaughter of horses for animal consumption, the path is wide open for reinstating domestic horse slaughter in the U.S. The current language of the SAFE Act includes an exemption for Indian tribes and if passed, it would allow for horses to be slaughtered on these reservations.

Native American tribes want to legally slaughter horses in custom slaughterhouses built on their reservations for animal food as a way to legally dispose of feral and wild horses on their lands.

Not to mention there is nothing in the SAFE Act or any other law that would prevent truckloads of horses from deceptively crossing our borders into Mexico and Canada under the guise of being “slaughtered for pet and zoo animal food.”

After more than 30 years of fighting to end this unspeakable practice, to have this poor excuse for a federal horse slaughter ban introduced is not only outrageous but a complete betrayal of the animals it is supposed to protect.

Please amend the SAFE Act to prohibit the slaughter of horses for animal consumption as well as for human consumption.

Thank you for your attention to this issue. We need legislators who care about America’s domestic and wild horses to deliver full protection from slaughter that will truly keep them safe.

Sincerely,

Priscilla Feral, President

Friends of Animals