Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, R-Brunswick, has joined Horse Racing Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito, president and founder of Equine Advocates Susan Wagner and State Sen. Frank Padavan, R-Queens, to call on the Assembly to pass legislation to prohibit the slaughter of horses for human consumption.
The bill, sponsored by Padavan, has been approved by the Senate three years in a row.
Countless New Yorkers enjoy our state’s rich horse racing tradition, and even more are in awe of the majesty and beauty of these fine animals, Bruno said.
`This legislation will protect horses from a few individuals who would slaughter them for human consumption, and ensure that they are treated properly and humanely. I urge the Assembly to take up and pass this bill.`
The measure would make it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in a prison, for those who purchase, trade, offer, import or export a horse or horse flesh with the intent to slaughter it for human consumption.
`This legislation establishes strong criminal penalties for individuals who brutally slaughter any horse for human consumption,` Padavan said in a written statement. `Swift enactment of this legislation would help ensure that all horses are protected from prolonged suffering and coldhearted treatment. I urge the state Assembly to join my Senate colleagues and I by passing this bill as soon as possible and show that this callous and inhumane practice will no longer be tolerated in New York.`
The bill would protect all members of the equine family from slaughter for human consumption, including horses and ponies, along with donkeys, mules and burros.
`Horse slaughter is a horrendous, cruel and inhumane practice which is opposed by over 70 percent of Americans. It is vital that New York follow in the footsteps of California, Texas and Illinois and ban horse slaughter in this state,` said Wagner.
`Last year, over 122,000 U.S.-bred equines were slaughtered for export to Europe and Japan for human consumption, with thousands of them transported live from New York State over the Canadian border for slaughter. It is time for this to stop. With the successful passage in the New York State Senate of S.1462, it is now time for the New York State Assembly to pass this legislation quickly so that Gov. (Eliot) Spitzer can sign it into law.`
While the offense is subject to up to one year in prison, a civil penalty of up to $1,000 may be imposed on an individual and $5,000 on a corporation for the first violation in lieu of criminal prosecution. Subsequent violations would be punishable by fines of up to $25,000.
Some proponents of horse slaughter say that eliminating this option would create a large surplus of unwanted, neglected horses.
Last year, Dr. Bonnie Beaver, past president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, told the House Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee, that U.S. horse rescue facilities have a maximum capacity of about 6,000 horses.
`It would be a daunting, and probably impossible, task to create facilities that could house an additional 10 times that number of horses every year,` she said.
This argument doesn’t hold water for some area farmers and horse-owners.
`Owning a horse is a lifetime commitment,` said Sharon Rogner who, along with her husband, Fred, owns Windridge Farm in Burnt Hills, where they maintain and board up to 10 horses. `If you need to establish a retirement plan, then that’s what you do. But these animals are not disposable.`
Barbara Lee Jensen agrees. At her After Hours Farm in Clifton Park she boards 24 horses ` some of which are rescue horses in their retirement.
`I’m absolutely for this bill and we have a number of rescue horses here,` she said. She says horse-slaughter is not a subject that is broached between her and other stable owners.
`I have never wanted to go that way,` she said. `I keep my horses ’til the bitter end. Call it a sense of karma, or call it hard work, but I’ve always wanted to keep my horses happy until the ends of their lives.`
Jensen said there is a new attitude toward horses some of the new horse-buying firms that have cropped up in racing and polo circles. `You now have people who barely even know how to approach a horse owning them,` she said.
Jensen said that some of these owners may view their horses as profit-making tools rather than living beings.
Both Jensen and Rogner said there needs to be more responsibility in the breeding process as well.
`We have a somewhat irresponsible breeding program,` said Jensen. She said that horses may be over-bred for sport when owners don’t have a clear plan for their stock.
`The breeding is in the hands of the people,` said Rogner. `These are not wild animals that are breeding on their own.`
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