Letter to the Editor:
I am glad to see that Sheriff John Anderson and AG Crimes Detective Adam McEwen made two arrests under California’s law against transporting horses out of state to be slaughtered for human consumption (“Stolen Horse Sold For Slaughter, Another Arrest Made,” May 20). Two beloved horses, Squirt and Lacey, were supposed to go to a sanctuary after a state brand inspector took them into custody. Sadly, they never made it—and instead ended up in the inhumane slaughter pipeline.
This tragic story underscores that all horses are vulnerable when horse slaughter exists. The predatory enterprise makes a profit from snatching up healthy horses that bring a good price per pound at the slaughterhouse, not sickly or unwanted horses. And horse slaughter is anything but humane—from long distance transport to the slaughter process itself, it is nothing but pain and terror for these animals that have been raised to trust us.
California has taken strides to protect horses from slaughter, and I thank the diligent officers who upheld that law in this case. However, to truly protect our horses, the horse slaughter industry must be shut down entirely, and the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act (S.541/H.R.1094) would do just that. Sens. Boxer and Feinstein are co-sponsors of this important legislation. Please contact U.S. Reps. McClintock and Costa and urge them to do the same.
— Jennifer Fearing, deputy director of policy and programs for The Humane Society of the United States
