WASHINGTON - A full-page ad taken out by The Humane Society of the United States in support of a permanent ban on horse slaughter is scheduled to run May 6 in the Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal in the paper's special Kentucky Derby section. The ad portrays the famous photograph of the 1986 Kentucky Derby winning horse, Ferdinand, just moments before his stunning victory.

Ferdinand was sent to a Japanese slaughterhouse in 2002.

"The 20th anniversary of Ferdinand's remarkable Derby victory reminds us of the importance of passing federal legislation to halt the inhumane practice of sending horses to slaughter for human consumption," states Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS.  "If Ferdinand - a storied winner of the Kentucky Derby - could be sent to slaughter, then it's clear that all horses are at risk, especially if they are sold to unknown purchasers."

The ad is part of a major campaign by The HSUS to urge Americans to contact their members of Congress in support of the American Horse Slaughter Prevent Act, H.R. 503 and S. 1915. Specifically, the legislation would prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses to be slaughtered for human consumption or other purposes. The bills' sponsors are U.S. Reps. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), John Sweeney (R-N.Y.), John Spratt (D-S.C.), and Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) and U.S. Senators John Ensign (R-Nev.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.).

Nearly 100,000 horses are sent to slaughter every year in this country, including race horses, work horses, wild horses, and family ponies. They are slaughtered at one of three American-based, foreign-owned plants, and most of the meat is sent to Europe and Asia. Thousands more are shipped live to Canada and butchered there for human consumption abroad.

Horse racing organizations such as Churchill Downs, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, National Steeplechase Association, and the National Show Horse Registry have joined The HSUS in calling for a national law banning the slaughter of horses for export for human consumption.

According to the Courier-Journal, this special section is expected to reach nearly 725,000 readers. To preview the ad, please click on the button in the top left corner of this email entitled "Kentucky Derby Ad."

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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization with more than 9.5 million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals, disaster preparedness and response, wildlife and habitat protection, animals in research, equine protection and farm animal welfare. The HSUS protects all animals through education, investigation, litigation, legislation, advocacy, and field work. The non-profit organization is based in Washington and has field representatives and offices across the country. On the web at www.hsus.org