The HSUS Praises Nebraska Unicameral on the Passage of Animal Cruelty Legislation

April 16, 2008

The Humane Society of the United States today praised the Nebraska Unicameral for passing LB 764, which would ban horse tripping and steer tailing. The HSUS urges the governor to sign this bill into law.

"We thank Senator Cornett for spearheading legislation to ban these cruel practices," said Keith Dane, The HSUS' director of equine protection. "Horse tripping and steer tailing encourage an insensitivity to and acceptance of the inhumane treatment of animals in the name of sport. We are thrilled to see Nebraska doing away with these practices."

Horse tripping consists of intentionally tripping, lassoing or roping the legs of a horse, or causing a horse to fall for the purposes of entertainment, sport, practice or contest. Events that include these cruel activities severely injure thousands of American horses each year. Horses break legs, necks and teeth. They fracture shoulders, their knees and hocks are battered, and their bodies wounded. The ropes often burn their flesh down to the bone. 

Steer tailing involves chasing down a running steer on horseback, grabbing the steer's tail, and pulling the animal — often violently — to the ground. Steer often suffer serious injuries in the process. A steer's tail can be pulled off — an extremely painful injury since a steer's tail is connected to his spinal cord.

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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization — backed by 10.5 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty — On the web at humanesociety.org.