Horse Owners At Risk! Transporting Your Horse for Any Activity May Be Risky! Senator Mary Landrieu (D)- Louisiana, has succeeded in scheduling Senate Bill 311 for a floor vote. You may recall this bill reads "To amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption, and for other purposes." Senator Landrieu has offered the following amendment to this bill: Section 3 of the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1822) is amended to add the following: (1) horses and other equines play a vital role in the collective experience of the United States and deserve protection and compassion; (2) horses and other equines are domestic animals that are used primarily for recreation, pleasure, and sport; (3) unlike cows, pigs, and many other animals, horses and other equines are not raised for the purpose of being slaughtered for human consumption; (4) individuals selling horses or other equines at auctions are seldom aware that the animals may be bought for the purpose of being slaughtered for human consumption; (5) the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture has found that horses and other equines cannot be safely and humanely transported in double deck trailers; and (3) by striking paragraph (8) (as redesignated by paragraph (1) and inserting the following: (8) the movement, showing, exhibition, or sale of sore horses in intrastate commerce, and the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation in intrastate commerce of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption adversely affect and burden interstate and foreign commerce. (c) Prohibition- Section 5 of the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S>C. 1824 is amended- (1) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through (11) as paragraphs (9) through (12), respectively; and (2) by inserting after paragraph 7 the following: (8) The shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of any horse or other equine to be slaughtered for human consumption. (d) Authority to Detain -Section 6 (e) of the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1825 (e) is amended- (1) by striking the first sentence of paragraph (1); (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) and as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; and (3) by inserting before paragraph (2) as redesignated by paragraph (2) the following: (1) The Secretary may detain for examination, testing, or the taking of evidence--(A) any horse at any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction that is sore or that the Secretary has probable cause to believe is sore; and (B) any horse or other equine that the Secretary has probable cause to believe is being shipped, transported, moved, delivered, received, possessed, purchased, sold, or donated in violation of section 5(8). (E) Authorization of Appropriations-Section 12 of the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1931) is amended by striking $500,000 and inserting $5,000,000. This bill may have far-reaching effects on horse owners and their ability to buy and sell horses. The legislation is said to be vague and ambiguous by the American Paint Horse Association and its passage could have far-reaching consequences. To contact your senator about the issue, telephone (202) 224- 3121 and ask to be transferred to your senators' office, please tell them you are opposed to Senate Bill 311 as written. Tom Martinez Northwest Vet 1-800-660-8150 tdmnwv@yahoo.com This legislation opens the door for various interpretations. From my understanding, it could be that during a competition you have a horse go lame. If there was a representative or an employee of a humane society or a legitimate "Not for Profit." group that cares for sick, dying, or hurt animals. They could take possession of your animal and move it to a care facility, if they have a fear that you would send that animal to a kill facility, or sell him to someone that might. It would then become your burden to prove that the animal would not be sent to slaughter, and you would be responsible for the care bill that would be created even if the animal was not under your care. That would include transportation charges. Please call the American Quarter Horse Assoc. in Amarillo, Tx., they should have further information. You would have no legal recourse against the organization that took the horse, as these societies are free from punitive actions. Tom Martinez