HEBER CITY, UT / ACCESSWIRE / May 29, 2024 / Utah's top equine sanctuaries, including Liberty Sanctuary, Red Birds Trust, Saving Gracie Foundation, and Wildheart Sanctuary as well as national advocacy groups like Animals' Angels, Animal Wellness Action and Horses In Our Hands announce the launch of SAFEACT.org. The website is a national appeal to encourage legislators to pass the Save America's Forgotten Equines Act (SAFE Act HR 3475/S 2037) which would ban the export of American equines to foreign meat plants for slaughter and protect America's most vulnerable horses. SAFEACT.org was created by Utah-based EquineIQ and designer Allison Walton to provide constituents a convenient opportunity to share their support of the ban with a few quick steps.
The user-friendly site is operable nationwide and quickly identifies legislators based on simple user inputs using artificially intelligent technology from leading Silicon Valley developer Legisletter.org to script messages to legislators. Users will also have the option to personalize their messages. Any organization wishing to support the SAFE Act can forward the SAFEACT.org site link to their constituents. In return, the site will offer back links to supporters free of charge. There are no donation requests or side promotions. The site's one objective is to allow constituents to be heard and help pass legislation to ban the export of American equines for slaughter.
More than 20,000 American equines are exported for slaughter annually to benefit foreign meat companies. Both domestic and wild horses enter the slaughter pipeline where their experience is inhumane and immoral. All medical care stops once an equine enters the pipeline. Their ordeal worsens as they are tightly packed into cargo trucks and transported thousands of miles in deplorable conditions to meet an unjust fate. According to the USDA, 92.3% of these equines are young and healthy and could otherwise have productive lives while even benefiting the US economy.
"Half of Liberty's rescues are under the age of two," said Debra West, Founder, Liberty Sanctuary and EquineIQ. "Passing the SAFE Act would be a pivotal step forward in helping to protect America's beloved equines and righting this national wrong. SAFEACT.org allows the public to express their support in a simple and efficient way."
According to a recent poll, 82% of Americans oppose the slaughter of American equines for meat and it's time legislators take note. Because Americans cherish their horses, slaughter plants in the United States were closed in 2007. This created a dangerous loophole for remaining kill-buyers to truck equines more than 1,000 miles to their deaths. The slaughter pipeline also provides cover for cited animal abuses, predatory horse-trading forcing rescuers to pay premiums, and other black market and criminal enterprises like drug trafficking.
"The slaughter industry operates in the shadows and preys on vulnerable animals while only benefiting a handful of profiteers and foreign meat companies. American equines are icons of freedom and symbols of our nation's frontier history and deserve nothing less than our gratitude and protection," asserted Scott Beckstead, admired equine advocate, Lecturer at Law, Willamette University College of Law and EquineIQ/Liberty Sanctuary Board Member.
The SAFE Act is a bipartisan bill introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). It currently has 223 cosponsors and would prohibit the exportation of American equines for slaughter. Spearheaded by Senators Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. and Menendez, D-N.J., the companion bill in the Senate also has strong bipartisan support. The bill is supported by major equine sanctuaries and leading national animal welfare groups and equine advocates including American Veterinary Medical Association, American Wild Horse Conservation, Animal Legal Defense Fund, Animals' Angels, Animal Welfare Institute, Animal Wellness Action, ASPCA, EquineIQ/Liberty Sanctuary, Horses In Our Hands, Humane Society of the United States, Return to Freedom as well as the Thoroughbred racing and Trotting industries.
Leading the national charge in lobbying to pass the SAFE Act is Wayne Pacelle, President of Animal Wellness Action and Center for a Humane Economy. "We are sounding the alarm to Congress that healthy American horses are being butchered in a secretive, inhumane trade to Mexico," he said. "The animal welfare community and the Thoroughbred racing industry are united in demanding an end to this archaic, ruthless trade. Not one more year of trafficking these iconic animals should be tolerated."
Horse slaughter must be banned to save the lives of thousands of American equines annually and allow rescues to care for horses without exorbitant premiums. It is a critical first step to managing the American equine population humanely in addition to responsible breeding and endorsing compassionate euthanasia when medically necessary.
There is global movement away from exploiting horses and other equines, including an E.U. ban on the import of horse meat from the U.S. via Mexico. Canada's House of Commons is considering ending the transport of live horses for slaughter, while many European nations and companies are banning the slaughter of horses for consumption and other products.
Sonja Meadows, President, Animals' Angels, explained, "The demand for horse meat is diminishing. Only a small group of callous kill buyers profiteering on the backs of our horses wish to keep this trade alive. We can end this now by passing the SAFE Act."
Debra West added, "The American horse is synonymous with the American spirit and shouldn't be sold out. Respectfully, it's time U.S. lawmakers stand up for the majestic American horse, or they will be left on the wrong side of American values, public opinion, and history. There are enough resources and homes to keep these horses SAFE in the United States. Let's do the right thing and end this horrific practice."
Learn more and help pass the Save America's Forgotten Equines Act at www.safeact.org.
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Animals' Angels, Inc. is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization with full-time investigators working to shed light on animal cruelty. Their documented reports and video footage are provided to the news media as a public service to raise awareness. They also present investigation results to auction and slaughter plant management to encourage positive improvements and share documentation of cruelty with all appropriate law enforcement agencies to ensure that violators of animal protection laws are being held responsible for their actions at all applicable levels. www.animalsangels.org
Animal Wellness Action is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(4) whose mission is to help animals by promoting laws and regulations at federal, state and local levels that forbid cruelty to all animals. The group also works to enforce existing anti-cruelty and wildlife protection laws. Animal Wellness Action believes helping animals helps us all. www.animalwellnessaction.org
EquineIQ was established to develop innovative and sensible solutions nationally to benefit equines in need by bringing together stakeholders in the equine industry and collaborating with corporations and government officials. Their solutions-oriented approach to problems led to the development and launch SAFEACT.org. www.equineiq.org
Legisletter Legisletter empowers NGOs to champion lasting change on critical issues like animal welfare and education reform. Through its AI-powered advocacy platform, it streamlines the creation of highly personalized letters tailored to each supporter's concerns for an intuitive user experience. Organizations can now launch impactful advocacy campaigns in minutes, not weeks, providing the agility to respond swiftly to evolving political landscapes. https://legisletter.org
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SOURCE: Liberty Sanctuary
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