An ammendment to Texas House Bill 2543 could legalize horse slaughter and open the door for increased amounts of inhumane treatment toward horses. Horse slaughter for the purpose of consumption has been banned in Texas since 1949 and we need your help to keep it that way.

The Bills introduced by the horse slaughter plants to legalize horse slaughter in Texas have gone nowhere. They now realize that they cannot legalize horse slaughter in Texas through normal legislative channels and have reverted to a backup strategy of trying to amend other legitimate legislation as it works it way through the legislative process.

We have learned that one primary target for an amendment to legalize horse slaughter is Texas HB 2543 which is a bill authorizing the continuation and operation of the Texas Animal Health Commission. That bill has passed the House of Representatives and is currently in the Senate.

Some key reasons for opposing horse slaughter:

- No matter what anyone says, horse slaughter and the related transportation of horses to slaughter is extremely cruel and inhumane. Slaughter is not euthanasia, it is slaughter!

- Horse slaughter plants are a drain on the local economy. The two Texas horse slaughter plants are foreign owned and employ less than 130 low-paid, mostly migrant workers. The horse slaughter plants gross millions of dollars each year, but by using accounting loopholes they pay little or no US taxes, sending all their profits to their foreign owners.

- Horse slaughter promotes horse theft, bragging "from the stable to the table in forty-eight hours," as healthy horses are stolen and butchered and their meat is exported within hours. Horse theft in California dropped by over 34% immediately after that state banned horse slaughter and continued to drop steadily by over 80% in 2005.

The Houston SPCA urges you to oppose any amendment to Texas HB 2543 or any other bill that would legalize horse slaughter in Texas.

Please call, fax, or as a last resort, email your state representative immediately and ask him or her to oppose any ammendments to Texas HB 2543 that could legalize horse slaughter! Ask your friends to do the same!

* * * Remember when contacting your state senator, always be respectful and polite. PLEASE ACT TODAY! * * *
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Changes happen every day in the legislative branch, and we strive to keep you updated on any and all important imformation pertaining to the welfare of animals as it becomes available to us. Thank you for your understanding.

Please visit our Cruelty Investigations & Animal Rescue page for more information about how we are fighting animal abuse in the community, and click here if you would like to make a donation to help strengthen our efforts!