Dear Humanitarian:
On Tuesday, February 24th, the Illinois General Assembly’s Agriculture and Conservation Committee will consider H.B. 583, a bill designed to overturn the state’s ban on horse slaughter. The ban, which went into effect in 2007, closed the country’s last remaining horse slaughter plant – Cavel International (based in DeKalb, IL) – which was foreign-owned, marking the end to an utterly cruel practice that the majority of Americans oppose.
The sponsor of the pro-slaughter bill, Representative Jim Sacia, has a long history of fighting to keep horse slaughter alive despite strong opposition from the majority of Illinois residents and the American public. Rep. Sacia is out of step with public opinion and his effort is in vain; having sat empty for almost two years the former Cavel plant recently opened to slaughter non-equine species. Further, the U.S. Congress is currently considering the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, which is anticipated to move quickly, and will prohibit the slaughter of horses here as well as their export for slaughter abroad.
What You Can Do
If you are from Illinois please click on the links below and call each member of the House Agriculture and Conservation Committee, except for Rep. Sacia who also serves on the committee, and politely ask them to oppose H.B. 583. Contact information for committee members is shown below. Remind them that:
- You oppose H.B. 583 because horse slaughter is a cruel and unnecessary practice.
- The Illinois General Assembly banned horse slaughter by an overwhelming majority in 2007, and urge them to reject Representative Sacia’s bill, H.B. 583.
- There is no evidence to support Rep. Sacia’s claims that Cavel’s closure has led to an increase in horse abandonment.
- Ending horse slaughter stopped an overt form of animal cruelty and has only been good for the horses. The state ban is important.
- Rep. Sacia complained that closing Cavel would put local workers out of business despite the cruelty of the industry. The building that formerly housed Cavel has recently re-opened to slaughter non-equine species, thus bring jobs and income to the local economy. His argument is even more irrelevant given this development.
- Please also let them know that you support passage of the federal Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, which is expected to move quickly this Congress. The bill will prohibit the slaughter of American horses throughout the United States as well as their export abroad for the same purpose.
Agriculture & Conservation Committee - Members 96th General Assembly
Chairperson: Brandon W. Phelps
Vice-Chairperson :Patrick J Verschoore
Republican Spokesperson: Jim Sacia
Member: John D. Cavaletto
Member: Shane Cultra
Member: Lisa M. Dugan
Member: Robert F. Flider
Member: Mary E. Flowers
Member: Julie Hamos
Member: Donald L. Moffitt
Member: Richard P. Myers
Member: David Reis
Member: Dan Reitz
The hearing for Rep. Sacia’s bill is scheduled for Tuesday, February 24th. Please call every committee member and make sure they are aware of the facts on each bill.
Be sure to bookmark http://www.awionline.org/legislation/horse_slaughter/whats_new.htm updates on this hearing and other horse slaughter campaign information.Please share this eAlert with friends, family and coworkers, and urge them to weigh in with the Illinois state legislature to ensure that horses continue to receive the protection they deserve. As always, thank you for your help!
Sincerely,
Chris Heyde
Deputy Director of Government and Legal Affairs
Posts
1 comment:
The hearing for the bill is at 2pm central time. As a member of MA4horses, I will be making calls to all the reps. urging them to vote NO. You are doing a great job on this blog. The info. is very current and accurate. Thank you for helping to get the message out to the public.
Post a Comment