CA Senator Florez Introduces Bill SJR 22 in Support of Fed Horse Slaughter Ban

CA Senator Florez Introduces Bill SJR 22 in Support of Fed Horse Slaughter Ban

This measure would memorialize the Congress to support federal legislation to protect American horses from slaughter for human consumption.  

WHEREAS,
California voters enacted a ban on the slaughter of horses for human consumption and the sale of horsemeat for human consumption in 1998; and

WHEREAS, California horses continue to be transported and sold out of state, making protection of our horses difficult and dependent on the passage of a federal
ban on the movement of horses for purposes of slaughter for human consumption; and 

WHEREAS, The slaughter of American horses has continued unabated despite the closing in 2007 of the three slaughter houses then still operating within the United States;
and

WHEREAS, Federal legislation has been introduced, the Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009, that would prohibit the possession, shipping,
transporting, purchasing, selling, delivering, or receiving of horses and other equines in interstate or foreign commerce for slaughter for human consumption;
and

WHEREAS, Horse slaughter is not humane euthanasia and is in fact animal torture and cruelty;
and

WHEREAS, Horse slaughter has been detrimental to the communities where slaughtering facilities have been located, with significant negative impacts to these communities
ranging from nuisance odors to chronic sewer and environmental violations; and

WHEREAS, Horse slaughter has been found to increase and abet horse theft; and

WHEREAS, Horse slaughter is not a means of controlling numbers of unwanted, abandoned, or neglected horses, but, rather, is a for-profit operation driven by a demand for
horsemeat in some foreign countries; and 

WHEREAS, American horses are not raised, fed, or medicated within the FDA guidelines established
for food animals, making them potentially unfit and unsafe for human consumption; and

WHEREAS, In America, horses are an icon of our history, traditions, and culture, revered for their contributions to the building of this country, their companionship,
and their special bond with people; now, therefore, be it  

Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature hereby urges Congress to support federal
legislation to protect American horses from slaughter for human consumption;
and be it further  

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate is hereby authorized and directed to transmit copies of this resolution to the President and
Vice President of the United States, the Majority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to each Senator and Representative
from California in the Congress of the United States.

Link to Bill at CA.Gov
http://leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_0001-0050/sjr_22_bill_20100210_introduced.html

Learn more about this topic:
"Saving America's Horses A Nation Betrayed"
http://www.savingamericashorses.org/home.html
Protection for All Equines from Slaughter