American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act

The AHSPA legislation is still mired in the ponderous movement of legislation in Congress. Readers remember that this law ends the killing of horses for their flesh and forbids "the domestic and international transport of live horses or horseflesh for human consumption." On September 7, 2006, the House of Representatives approved the legislation (HR503) by a vote of 263-146. While introduced into the Senate that year (S311), senators failed to act on it by the end of the year. Then on April 25, 2007, the bill was reported favorably by committee to the full Senate, but is not scheduled for a vote. Later last year, on August 2, 2007, the House passed an amendment to the 2008 Agriculture Appropriations bill that took away funds from the federal program that required horses intended for slaughter be inspected. The reasoning is that without this inspection, horses cannot be killed. The amendment, which must still go to the Senate, is considered only a temporary solution while the sponsors of the AHSPA fight to make it permanent. www.awionline.org/legislation/horse_slaughter/index.htm.