Left to right: Connie Harriman Whitfield, Nellie McKay and Sky Dutcher stand up for horses on Capitol Hill Sept. 5.

By Meghan Goss

Imagine having to tell a 12-year-old, on her birthday, that her horse has been killed. Dale Dutcher faced this tragedy when his daughter's horse, Cimmoron, was stolen from his pasture in 2004 and cruelly slaughtered days later.

Dale and his daughter Sky traveled from Roscoe, N.Y., to Washington to share their story at a Sept. 5 rally to protect America's horses.

"I never saw Cimmoron again because he was taken to slaughter by a known killer buyer," Sky told a crowd of hundreds of advocates who gathered outside the Cannon House Office Building in the rain to press for passage of H.R. 503, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. The bill would permanently ban horse slaughter for human consumption. A House vote on the bill is scheduled for Sept. 7.

"Between now and the vote, hundreds of horses will be slaughtered," said Tracy Silverman of the Society for Animal Protective Legislation. "While we can't do anything for them, the fate of hundreds of thousands of other horses lies in our hands."

According to a recent national poll, 69 percent of Americans oppose the slaughtering of horses for human consumption.

Janet Anderson is one of them and has been fighting for the ban for more than a year, ever since she learned about the suffering horses endure at slaughter. She left her New Jersey shore home at 4 a.m. and drove through pouring rain to reach the rally.

Anderson has never had a horse, but this week she will adopt a 9-year-old former race horse. "I'm getting a thoroughbred off the track that was going to be thrown away like trash," she explained. "The owner said get rid of him … I felt like I had to do it."

More than 100,000 American horses are slaughtered annually in three foreign-owned slaughter plants in the United States, or sent to Canada and Mexico for slaughter. Their meat is shipped overseas, primarily to France, Belgium and Japan, where it is considered a delicacy.

H.R. 503 enjoys more than 200 cosponsors and support from more than 500 organizations. Legislation to prohibit horse slaughter was first introduced in the 1970s but, despite broad, bipartisan support, has faced difficult opposition from a few congressional leaders.

"This is the first time the bill will be on the floor for a vote and I don't know if it will ever be there again. This could be our last chance," said Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), who introduced the bill along with Reps. John Sweeney (R-NY), John Spratt (D-SC) and Nick Rahall (D-WV).

With the race to end horse slaughter now in the homestretch, opponents of the bill have stepped up efforts to defend the slaughter industry, asserting that it benefits horses.

"How can anyone make the argument that it's good for horses?" asked Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. "Our investigators have been on the floor of these plants … These people are not doing anything to benefit horses; they're doing something to benefit their pockets."

Paula Bacon, mayor of Kaufman, Tex., joined the rally because she wants the Dallas Crown Inc. slaughterhouse out of her community. "We have a horse slaughter plant that treats our town like a doormat," she said. "We're stigmatized by horse slaughter, and we don't want it."

Other rally participants included Eddie Kilroy, host of XM Radio's "Willie's Place;" Amy Nelson, daughter of country music legend Willie Nelson; and Nellie McKay, singer and animal advocate.

“This is a national tragedy, what is going on,” said McKay. “Future generations should not look upon us as the ones who continue this cruelty, but the ones who end it.” 

News Update Sept. 7, 2006  

The U.S. House voted 263-146 in favor of the slaughter ban. Now, we're on to the Senate. See the box above to take action and help horses the Senate.