Meet The Pro-Slaughter Politicians

You may already be aware that on Nov. 18 2011, President Obama signed a bill with revised language which removed a ban on horsemeat inspections, effectively allowing horse slaughter to resume in America. But do you know who was responsible for the revision? According to Forbes contributor Vickory Eckhoff, three congressmen managed to push their agenda through via a closed-door-session on capitol hill. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), held up the appropriations bill until the last moment, forcing President Obama to sign despite promises to end horse slaughter.
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But there are more than just these three who wish to see the horse slaughter industry restored in the US.

Charlie Stenholm, former congressman (D-TX) and lobbyist
In 2004, working for Washington's agribusiness lobbying firm Olsson Frank Weeda, Stenholm fought the closure of three foreign-owned horse slaughter plants. Currently lobbies for National Cattlemen's Beef Association and other clients whith a financial stake in the horse slaughter business returning to the US.

Sen. Mark Bauchus (D-MT)
Worked for years to re-open US horse slaughter plants. Sen. Bauchus comissioned the recent GAO report used to put off a vote on the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. He also urged Senate Appropriations heads (Inouye and Cochran) and House Appropriations heads (Rogers and Dicks) to remove the USDA horse slaughter inspection defunding language from the 2012 Agriculture Appropriations bill.

Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Has jurisdiction over the budgets of the USDA, FDA, and other agencies. Along with Blunt and Kingston, he removed the language defunding USDA horse-slaughter inspections in the 2012 Agriculture Appropriations bill, in a closed door session.

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Played a significant role in the reversal in the ban on horse slaughter plant inspections which he, Herb Kohl, and Jack Kingston orchestrated.

Rep. Jack Kingston (D-GA)
Member of the Congressional Beef Caucus, he joined Kohl and Blunt in removing the language defunding USDA inspections of horse slaughter plants.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
With the help of then-rep. Charlie Stenholm, he helped bottle up the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act in the 107th congress, keeping it in committee despite more than 230 cosponsers in the house. He then blocked a second house bill in the 110th session by requesting numerous extensions until the session ran out.

Former Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) Lobbyist
Per request of Harry Reed, inserted language into the 2005 Consolidated Appropriations Bill Conference Committee Report during the 109th congress. The changes overruled key sections of the Wild And Free Roaming Horses And Burros Act of 1971, remaining in effect for three successive bills, sending thousands of wild horses and burros to their deaths. Named as one of the 20 most corrupt members of congress in 2006 by CREW. Burns has been a lobbyist for the AQHA since 2008. (70,000 quarter horses were shipped to Canada for slaughter in 2010 alone- 70% of all breeds slaughtered)

Rep. Sue Wallis (R-WY)
Has been working hard to bring back U.S. horse slaughter plants. Vice President of United Horsemen which represents major horse-breeding organizations (like the AQHA) and other groups which have a financial interest in re-opening horse slaughter houses, such as the National Cattlemen's Beef Lobby, American Veterinary Medical Association, and the Farm Lobby. Fundraises and lobbies on behalf of her clients through websites, some of which feature recipes for horse meat.

Knowledge Is Power! - Educate Yourself On The Facts Of Slaughter

I created this blog as a resource for people who are passionate about horses to come and equip themselves with the facts on horse slaughter. After learning about the lift on the ban of USDA inspections of horsemeat in the US (which effectively legalized horse slaughter), I felt compelled to do whatever I could to make sure that horse slaughter never resumed in the country. I was shocked at the passionate (and sometimes downright hateful) resistance I was met with when discussing this topic, mostly within the horse community. I am not one to blindly stand behind a cause, so I was eager to hear and learn their side of the argument, which, I discovered was riddled with incorrect statistics and facts. I realise some people are absolutely set in their beliefs, and nothing I can say or do will change their mind, which is fine. I have created this blog for those wo are unsure where they stand on the slaughter debate, or those who would like to educate themselves on the facts to create a more compelling and hard-hitting argument in the case against horse slaughter.

Thank you for visiting the site, I hope you find it helpful!