Bill to Stop Illinois Horse Slaughter Moves Forward
Springfield, Illinois (March 23, 2007) - Veterinarians for Equine Welfare (VEW) is pleased to announce that H.B. 1711, introduced by State Representative Bob Molaro to end horse slaughter in Illinois, passed by an 8-4 vote in the Illinois House Executive Committee.
"We are very thankful and excited about this outcome," said Illinois horse owner and trainer Gail Vacca. "It's a matter of protecting all horses, not just those in Illinois, since fraudulent measures are used to obtain the animals from around the country."
Yet despite this positive news, blatant misinformation presented at the hearing was a cause for concern. "I was shocked," said Dr. Nena Winand, DVM, PhD, who testified in support of the bill on behalf of VEW. "Southern Illinois University physiologist Dr. Sheryl King alleged that all the rescues in the country are full - a statement that is simply untrue. Dr. Winand went on to say "I also find it difficult to accept Dr. King's claim that it was only possible to render 10 horse carcasses in the state of Illinois during the past year due to the lack of availability of renderers. Illinois farmers properly dispose of thousands of livestock that die naturally each year in the state." It is also important to note that, horse owners present at the hearing, reported that they had not encountered trouble disposing of their horses remains via local rendering services.
Proponents of the horse slaughter ban successfully addressed misperceptions regarding the origin and numbers of "unwanted horses", that have been propagated in the media over the past year.
Barbara Geittmann, Executive Director of the Hooved Animal Humane Society (HAHS) in Woodstock Illinois, stated that "last year HAHS reconfigured its farm to accommodate larger numbers of animals, including 17 horses and their 10 impending foals that HAHS acquired when the animals were impounded due to neglect." Geittmann also noted that "2006 was the most successful year to date with a 75 % increase in both intake of horses and subsequent adoptions. With our new layout, we will always be available to make room for new cases and certainly do not consider ourselves at capacity."
Additional testimony in favor of horse slaughter was presented by AVMA Executive Vice President Dr. Bruce Little, DVM.
HB 1711 will soon move to a vote by the full Illinois House of Representatives. We encourage all VEW member veterinarians along with our supporters to continue to advocate for passage of this important bill.
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Veterinarians for Equine Welfare was created by a group of veterinarians from all disciplines who are concerned about misinformation being transmitted to the public regarding the national debate on horse slaughter. For more information on the newly formed organization, please visit http://www.vetsforequinewelfare.org.
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