Wild Horse Crisis Alert Update

NOV. 19, 2018

RECENT ISSUE UPDATES:
Currently, the Modoc Forest Service is CHASING DOWN and TRAPPING 1000 California DEVIL'S GARDEN PLATEAU WILD HORSES with the intention to sell 100's of the horses without limitation, enabling buyers to purchase up to 36 horses for as little as one dollar each.

On Friday Nov 9, 2018 California Attorney General Becerra issued a WARNING to the USDA and the US Forest Service in Wash. DC, and both CA Forest Service Districts, to COMPLY with California Penal Code § 598c which PROHIBITS the slaughter of horses. WFLF applauds Attorney General Becerra's warning.  This is a strong stride forward for America's horses who depend on your united and continued action in raising awareness through the power of knowledge and truth.

On Oct. 13, 2018, Saving America's Horses issued a Crisis Alert and Global Call to Action with true facts about slaughter and the law, together with contact information for officials in power who can help enforce the law. We thank all of you who took action.  YOUR VOICE MATTERS! 

But the fight is far from over for California's horses and burros who are continuously shipped underground to slaughter, despite California's Penal Code § 598c.  Violating this law is a felony that carries a prison sentence of up to three years. Cal. Pen. Code § 598c(c). However, in the absence of federal protection, over 100,000 American horses are shipped across federal borders to slaughter plants in Mexico and Canada each year.

America's wild horse and burro population is under an escalated direct threat of the U.S.D.A, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the Department of Interior (DOI), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).  All of these agencies are engaged in aggressive pro-slaughter activities, with varying degrees of underhanded maneuvering and duplicity.  Make no mistake - all these agencies operate at the root of the pro-slaughter movement! 

In May 2018, the DOI ordered the BLM to empty out wild horse and holding corrals by selling 25 horses at a time with no questions asked to any buyer. Despite a prohibition on such cruelty by the Interior Appropriations Committee, the Interior Secretary has mandated that the horses must be sold. As pointed out by Attorney General Becerra, "this is a reversal of U.S. previous policy of following restrictions on the sale of wild horses that Congress regularly imposes on the federal Bureau of Land Management. Under these Congressional restrictions, wild horses cannot be sold for processing into commercial products, including food."

As advocates in the ongoing fight for a national win against slaughter, one of our biggest challenges has been and remains getting the truth out in the open. What most people don't realize is that the disinformation campaigns related to our mission are driven by deep pocket special interests who do NOT really care about the horses at all. No matter what you've heard, there is only one truth: horse slaughter is NOT humane euthanasia. Nor is it a "necessary evil".

WFLF and Saving America's Horses urge all those who want to make a difference for the horses and burros, to stand united and make your voice heard. Armed with the knowledge of truth we can make a win against the pro-slaughter movement and their underhanded efforts, undermining devices, and misleading propaganda. Join us!


WFLF Saving America's Horses' speaks to the need for protection of America's wild and domestic horses and burros both locally and on a national level. "We are adamantly opposed to slaughter," states Jay Coskie, vice president, WFLF.  "We seek and support strong federal protection for these animals, for a permanent federal ban against slaughter in the U.S. and an end to their exportation from the U.S. for slaughter in foreign countries." "Without federal protection more than 100,000 wild and domestic horses and burros are funneled across U.S. borders for gruesome slaughter each year," added Katia Louise, president and director, WFLF.

The Wild for Life Foundation (WFLF) is a U.S. Registered 501 (c)(3) all volunteer nonprofit charity dedicated to the prevention of cruelty to animals with a focus on saving, protecting and preserving at-risk wild and domestic horses and burros in need. In July 2018, Wild For Life Foundation celebrated its 10th anniversary of success in awarding winning charitable services and impeccable compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and operational policies. Federal ID No. 26-3052458

Together, we are their voice, and they need to be heard!

Learn more:
www.wildforlifefoundation.org
www.savingamericashorses.org

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What does a $2 billion budget cut to the USDA mean for the future of horse slaughter inside the US?

What does a $2 billion budget cut to the USDA mean for the future of horse slaughter inside the US?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Los Angeles, Mar 8, 2012, A $2 billion budget cut to the USDA prompts slaughter plant inspector furloughs within days of discovering USDA  intentions to approve horse slaughter inspections inside the US.  Secretary Vilsack told the House Ag committee that due to the federal sequester each USDA inspector will likely be furloughed 11 to 12 days at a time. The White House says USDA inspectors furloughs will cause meatpacking plants to shut down periodically.

"USDA inspections must take place on site at each U.S. slaughterhouse in order for its meat product to be legally available for interstate commerce, " explains Katia Louise, of the Wild for Life Foundation (WFLF). "The former ban on the spending of taxpayer dollars for USDA inspections of horse slaughter, had helped to keep foreign special interests from slaughtering our horses inside the U.S."  As pointed out by Wild for Life Foundation's Saving America's Horses, the  inclusion of the defunding language in the farm bill was however quietly stripped in Nov 2011, by Senators Blunt, Kohl and Congressman Kingston, leaving America's horses virtually unprotected.

The Senate will be opening this year's Ag appropriations bill next week. The house simply carried over the existing language and passed it as is, therefore the 2013 bill does NOT include the defunding language.  The bill now goes to Senator Mikulski and the subcommittee members, but they will have to answer to the American public; of which over 70% oppose horse slaughter.

"Proponents of slaughter argue that it would be better to slaughter horses in the U.S. where we can supposedly insure their humane treatment," observes Ms Louise.  "But numerous governmental reports and undercover investigations show that USDA inspections fail to stop insidious abuses from taking place inside our slaughterhouses. Substantial documented evidence reveals egregious violations and a total lack of enforcement by the USDA in U.S. horse slaughterhouses before they were shut down in 2007. If horse slaughter plants are reopened in the U.S., horses will undoubtedly suffer torturous agony on U.S. soil again."

As revealed in the new PSA series from WFLF, "International Health Alert" and "Duped", the U.S. horse slaughter cover-up puts people and horses in harm's way -- And American consumers are more concerned than ever that horse meat will make, or has possibly already made its way into beef products in the United States as it has done in Europe. Evidence of health hazards surfacing amidst the international horse meat scandal has resulted in several major companies, including Tesco, Nestlé and Ikea, pulling food from grocery shelves in 16 countries after tests showed beef products actually contained up to 100% horse meat.

In the absence of a federal ban, over 100,000 American horses are shipped across federal borders to slaughter plants in Mexico and Canada each year and from there the horse meat is shipped primarily to the EU. "But most people don't realize that U.S. horses are treated with many substances known to be toxic to humans; substances that can be lethal when ingested by humans, and many of which have been banned from the human food chain in most countries." - WFLF's Facts that Refute the 7 Most Common Myths About Horse Slaughter.  "... And Foreign consumers of horsemeat are not made aware of the associated health risks directly related to the substances administered to U.S. horses."

As Congress works to cut the budget through federal sequester and other possible means, it should also continue to prevent the additional spending of millions of dollars, simply to allow our nation’s horses again to be subjected to cruel slaughter for the satisfaction of foreign markets.

Prior to 2006, USDA spent approximately $5 million annually for inspections at U.S. based horse slaughter plants.  If the USDA were to re-institute such expenditures in the face of these critical billion dollar budget cuts, it may very well lose and never regain the trust of the American people.

Press Contact:

Kate Dudley PR, WFLF
T: 310-439-9817

admin @ wildforlifefoundation.org

Wild for Life Foundation (WFLF) is a 501 (c)(3) grassroots nonprofit charity dedicated to saving, protecting and preserving wild and domestic equines. The Saving America’s Horses Initiative is an international consortium of equine professionals dedicated to educating the public and raising awareness for responsible equine ownership, the preservation of America’s wild horses on open rangelands, and the protection of all equines from slaughter.

Learn more: http://www.SavingAmericasHorses.org/

http://youtu.be/peP_78ATJwc

http://youtu.be/S3UwE1hVaS0

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