Senate Resolution 16 - Introduced
PAG LIN
S.R. ________ H.R. ________
1 1 SENATE RESOLUTION NO.
1 2 BY KIBBIE
1 3 A Senate Resolution to urge Congress to support the
1 4 horse processing industry.
1 5 WHEREAS, horse processing is the most tightly
1 6 regulated of any animal harvest, and the only animal
1 7 that has its transportation to processing regulated;
1 8 and
1 9 WHEREAS, if horse processing plants are forced to
1 10 close, the Horse Welfare Coalition estimates the
1 11 60,000 to 90,000 unwanted horses annually would be
1 12 exposed to potential abandonment and neglect; and
1 13 WHEREAS, the 60,000 to 90,000 additional unwanted
1 14 horses each year would compete for adoption with the
1 15 32,000 wild horses that United States taxpayers are
1 16 already paying $40 million to shelter and feed; and
1 17 WHEREAS, the nation's inadequate, overburdened, and
1 18 unregulated horse rescue and adoption facilities
1 19 cannot handle the influx of the 60,000 or more
1 20 additional horses each year that would result from a
1 21 harvesting ban, according to the Congressional
1 22 Research Service; and
1 23 WHEREAS, the annual number of unwanted or unusable
1 24 surplus domestic horses is estimated to be 100,000,
1 25 increasing annually; and
1 26 WHEREAS, federal legislation was introduced to
1 27 amend the 1970 Horse Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. } 1821
1 28 et seq., to prohibit shipping, transporting, moving,
1 29 delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing,
1 30 selling, or donating horses and other equines for
2 1 processing and other purposes; and
2 2 WHEREAS, the loss of secondary markets has severely
2 3 impacted the livestock industry by eliminating the
2 4 salvage value of horses and has significantly reduced
2 5 the market value of all horses; and
2 6 WHEREAS, prohibitions regarding the processing of
2 7 horses have had significant economic impacts on the
2 8 entire equine industry and have resulted in
2 9 significant increases in abandoned and starving
2 10 animals; and
2 11 WHEREAS, state agriculture and rural leaders
2 12 recognize the necessity and benefit of a state's
2 13 ability to direct the transport and processing of
2 14 horses; NOW THEREFORE,
2 15 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, That the regulation
2 16 of horse transport and processing remain with the
2 17 states and that Congress not enact legislation that
2 18 interferes with states' authority to regulate the
2 19 transport or processing of horses; and
2 20 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That Congress support new
2 21 horse processing facilities and the continuation of
2 22 existing facilities on both the state and national
2 23 levels; and
2 24 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this
2 25 resolution be sent to the President of the United
2 26 States, the President of the United States Senate, the
2 27 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives,
2 28 and members of the Iowa congressional delegation.
2 29 LSB 2670XS 83
2 30 da/rj/14