WOO HOO!!! It's only a matter of time folks... only a matter of time. We need to work REALLY hard this year, and push this legal decision in EVERY email, letter, and fax you send to your Senators and House Representative. They need to KNOW that Texas courts have upheld this long standing law that Texans once felt was important to protect their beloved horses, and now the Federal Court of Appeals agrees!!!
Texas Ruling Against Horse Slaughter Confirmed by Federal Court of Appeals
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) March 6, 2007 - In affirming the January 2007 panel decision to uphold a Texas state law making it illegal to sell, possess and transport horsemeat for sale for human consumption, the entire US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has rejected the two Texas-based slaughterhouses' petition to review its earlier decision.
"Given the careful analysis by the Court of Appeals in the written panel opinion, and the rarity of rehearings en banc, we are not surprised that this local Texas issue was not reheard by the federal Court of Appeals," said Tarrant County Deputy Chief Ann Diamond.
The Texas horse slaughter plants have no further options other than to take their argument to the US Supreme Court. They have 90 days from yesterday's ruling to file a petition for a writ of certiorari. "The foreign-owned corporations behind this horrible industry are not likely to prevail, and we expect that the two Texas plants will soon close - leaving only one facility operating in Illinois. Yet as long as the case is pending, the plants are able to remain open," said Chris Heyde, deputy legislative director for the Society for Animal Protective Legislation.
In court, the slaughterhouses have argued that a ban on the sale of horsemeat does not protect horses from theft and abuse, while regulating horse slaughter would achieve this goal. However, in January, the Fifth Circuit panel ruled that the Texas law "survives the constitutional challenges raised by the slaughterhouses" and flatly dismissed an earlier district court finding that the alternative measures to protect horses are adequate for their protection and preservation.
Only the passage of the AHSPA, recently reintroduced in both chambers of Congress as H.R. 503 and S. 311 respectively, will guarantee that no horses in this country are hauled across the country under terrible conditions to be killed for human consumption, or transferred abroad for the same purpose.
The Society for Animal Protective Legislation, the Animal Welfare Institute's legislative arm, is the unsurpassed leader in obtaining laws to benefit animals in need, including the protection of domestic and wild horses. More information is available at http://www.saplonline.org/horses.htm
This is the press release from the HSUS. I will post links to news stories below it.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The Humane Society of the United States, which has been campaigning to ban the slaughter of American horses for export for human consumption, hailed a decision yesterday by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturning a lower court decision that invalidated a Texas state law banning the sale of horsemeat for human consumption. The HSUS filed an amicus brief in the case in March 2006, arguing in defense of Texas' state law barring the slaughter of American horses for human consumption overseas.
"This is the most important court action ever on the issue of horse slaughter. A federal appeals court has ruled that America's horses can no longer be slaughtered in Texas and shipped to foreign countries for food," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO for The Humane Society of the United States. "When this ruling is enforced, a single plant in Illinois will stand alone in conducting this grisly business."
The criminal code of Texas has long prohibited the sale or possession of horse meat, but the law has never been enforced. In 2002, responding to citizen and local government concerns about the two foreign-owned horse slaughter plants in the state -- Dallas Crown in Kaufman and Beltex in Fort Worth -- then-Texas Attorney General John Cornyn issued a written opinion that the 1949 Texas law applies and may be enforced.
In response, the Tarrant County District Attorney attempted to enforce the law, but last year a federal district court in Texas ruled that the law was repealed by another statute and preempted by federal law. The District Attorney appealed that decision last year, and was supported by The HSUS in briefing before the Court of Appeals.
In its decision, the court flatly rejected the slaughterhouses' arguments that the ban on the sale of horsemeat does not protect horses from theft and abuse, and that regulating horse slaughter can achieve those same purposes, noting instead that "it is a matter of commonsense that ... alternatives ... do not preserve horses as well as completely prohibiting the sale and transfer of horsemeat for human consumption." The court noted that the horse on the Texas trail is a cinematic icon, but "not once in memory did the cowboy eat his horse."
The Court of Appeals also quickly brushed aside the slaughter plants' arguments that the Texas law at issue was invalid under state and federal law, noting that the Texas law "has not been repealed or preempted by federal law," and that "several states have already banned its commercial use for human consumption."
"The Texas law prohibiting the sale of horse meat for human food could hardly be any more explicit," said Jonathan Lovvorn, vice president of animal protection litigation for The HSUS. "The court's decision means that any individual employee or corporation involved in the horse slaughter business in Texas now stares straight ahead at criminal prosecution."
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 100,800 American horses were slaughtered in three foreign-owned slaughter houses in 2006. Opponents of the slaughter ban argue the practice constitutes a humane way to kill old animals, but investigations by The HSUS show cruelty and abuse throughout the process. USDA statistics show that more than 92 percent of horses slaughtered in the U.S. are not old and infirm but in good condition.
Legislation to ban the slaughter of American horses nationwide was introduced this week in the 110th Congress, and this court ruling will give further momentum to the federal legislative effort. In the U.S. Senate, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, S. 311, was launched Jan. 17 by Sens. Mary Landrieu (news, bio, voting record) (D-La.) and John Ensign (news, bio, voting record) (R-Nev.), with 12 original cosponsors. In the U.S. House, Reps. Janice Schakowsky (news, bio, voting record) (D-Ill.) Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), John Spratt (news, bio, voting record) (D-S.C.), and Nick Rahall (news, bio, voting record) (D-W.Va.) introduced a companion bill, H.R. 503, the same day with 62 original cosponsors.
The measure received tremendous bipartisan support in the 109th Congress, winning a vote of 263 to 146 in the House. It stalled in the Senate in late 2006, however, and was not brought up for a vote before Congress adjourned, even though a similar effort had been overwhelmingly approved by the Senate in 2005.
The Humane Society of the United State sis the nation's largest animal protection organization with nearly 10 million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals, disaster preparedness and response, wildlife and habitat protection, marine mammals, animals in research, equine protection, and farm animal welfare. The HSUS protects all animals through education, investigation, litigation, legislation, advocacy and field work. The nonprofit organization is based in Washington and has field representatives and offices across the country. On the web at http://www.humanesociety.org
SOURCE The Humane Society of the United States
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http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=5966450
http://www.katc.com/global/story.asp?s=5966303
A LOT of Texas local stations running the same story as this second one.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070120/ap_on_re_us/horse_slaughter_1
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=azjOZN_4378s
http://news.bostonherald.com/national/view.bg?articleid=178243
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2810395&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312