Final ban on horse slaughter finally passed House. Now it needs to get through Senate.

In 2014, I worked in the U.S. House of Representatives for Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Hopkinsville, a tireless champion of horse protection issues who shepherded to passage the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act in the House seven years earlier — the first time the issue got a vote. While working for Whitfield, we had the thought to craft a transportation amendment that would ban horse slaughter on U.S. soil, and the transportation of horses for that purpose in hopes that it could hitch a ride on legislation moving through the House. But after much discussion with the Rules Committee and the Parliamentarian, our efforts weren’t considered germane to the 2014-era legislation and the deadline to make alterations passed. The Parliamentarian conveyed that it was her opinion if we’d simply tried to ban the transport of slaughter bound horses and not slaughter itself, we would have had a shot.

Over the years, I scoured the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee agenda searching for the right opportunity to pounce with the Parliamentarian’s suggestion, and when President Biden announced he would prioritize a major infrastructure package in 2021, I felt the day I’d long waited for had come. I kept my plan very quiet and shared with some close like-minded friends and confidants within the equine world: the owners of Stone Farm in Kentucky where three Kentucky Derby winners were raised; Crawford Farms, a champion harness racing operation in New York; the president of the U.S. Harness Racing Alumni Association; the Horses for Life Foundation; and the director of Disney’s 2020 hit film Black Beauty – people I knew we could really trust, and whose opinion I value tremendously.

On July 1, that long-awaited amendment to ban the transport of horses for slaughter cleared the full U.S. House by a voice vote – truly a historic day for the horses who have long been our partners in work and sport, and whose very backs our civilization was built upon. The measure bans the transport of equines across state lines or to Canada or Mexico for slaughter for human consumption. This amendment, if enacted into law, would prevent a cruel and predatory trade that claims the lives of tens of thousands of our nation’s iconic horses and burros every year at foreign abattoirs.

Among those that led the effort with Rep. Troy Carter, D-La., was Rep. Andy Barr, R-Lexington, co-chair of the Congressional Horse Caucus. We applaud him for his continued dedication to horse protection and leadership on the issue as a follow-up to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) he led to enactment in December.

Stone Farm’s Staci Hancock who was a key player in the passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act those many years ago lobbied hard and weighed in with comment: “The growing list of supporters from the horse industry sends a strong message, not only to our legislators but to those individuals who profit off the backs of America’s horses. By banning the transport of horses to slaughter, this strategic initiative would effectively put an end to horse slaughter in the U.S, once and for all.”

The transportation amendment was endorsed by more than 230 animal and equine protection and advocacy groups, organizations, rescues, and businesses in the U.S., including The Jockey Club; The Breeders’ Cup, New York Racing Association, which operates The Belmont Stakes; The Stronach Group which operates The Preakness Stakes; the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance; Claiborne Farm; and the Texas State Horse Council to name a few.

But we must still get measure over the next hurdle — the U.S. Senate — a chamber whose Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has been consistently sympathetic to the plight of horse slaughter. McConnell was also a champion of HISA in 2020 and we hope he will be a leader in the charge to prevent our iconic American equines from ending up as slabs of meat on foreign dinner plates in China and Japan.

Marty Irby is the executive director at Animal Wellness Action in Washington, D.C., who was named as one of The Hill’s Top Lobbyists for 2019 and 2020, and was recently honored by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, II for his work to protect horses. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @MartyIrby.

This story was originally published July 9, 2021 at 8:53 AM.