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Today, Representatives Steve Cohen (D-TN), Dina Titus (D-NV) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) re-introduced the Horse Transportation Safety Act (H.R.921) that would ban the transportation of horses across state lines in “double decker” trucks or trailers containing two or more levels stacked on top of one another. The bill has already garnered more than 100 cosponsors and is endorsed by animal welfare groups.  Congressman Cohen, a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, last year applauded the inclusion of the Horse Transportation Safety Act in the House-passed Moving Forward Act. Congressman Cohen has championed the measure since 2008. This year’s version of the bill currently has 105 bipartisan cosponsors. Horses deserve to be transported in as humane a manner as possible. Double-deck trailers do not provide adequate headroom for adult horses, and accidents involving double-deck trailers are a horrendous reminder that the practice is also dangerous to the driving public. I look forward to seeing this measure move forward as it did last year and be signed into law. — Congressman, Steve Cohen In addition to the 105 cosponsors, the Horse Transportation Safety Act is endorsed by numerous animal welfare groups and organizations including; The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), Animal Wellness Action, Animal Wellness Foundation, Center for a Humane Economy, American Horse Protection Society, Horses For Life Foundation, American Wild Horse Campaign, and the Texas State Horse Council. The use of double-decker trailers has been banned by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for horses that are bound for slaughter facilities, but permitted for horses transported for other reasons — including those used in rodeos.
Today the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service announced that 2021 federal grazing fees on national forests and grasslands will remain at $1.35 per animal unit month (AUM) — the lowest price allowed by law.  An animal unit month (AUM) is the use of public lands by a cow/calf pair, five goats or sheep, or by a single bull, steer, heifer, horse, burro, or mule. The fee will apply to nearly 18,000 grazing permits and leases administered by the Bureau of Land Management and nearly 6,250 permits administered by the Forest Service. A CONFLICT WITH WILD HORSES AND WILDLIFEMany grazing permits overlap with Herd Management Areas (HMA) where our wild horses and burros are legally entitled to graze under the statutes of the 1971 Wild and Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act. In addition to native predators such as cougars, bears and wolves, wild horses are continually targeted for removal because of conflicts with domestic livestock on public lands. Through lobbying and lawsuits, the American mustang has become both a target and a scapegoat for the livestock industry's agenda to dominate and control public lands for their own grazing use. SUBSIDIZING WELFARE RANCHERS ON THE TAXPAYERS DIME$1.35 per AUM is an outright giveaway to ranchers that graze millions of environmentally destructive cattle and sheep on America's public lands. In addition to the ecological cost, the program is funded by the U.S. taxpayers, estimated at $500 million to $1 billion per year. In contrast, the grazing fee on private lands in 16 western states is approximated at $22.00 a month. The formula used for calculating the AUM grazing fee was established by Congress in the 1976 Federal Land Policy and Management Act and as amended in the 1978 Public Rangelands Improvement Act and has continued under a presidential Executive Order issued in 1986. Under that Order, the grazing fee cannot fall below $1.35 per head month and any increase or decrease cannot exceed 25% of the previous year's level. The grazing fees apply to rangelands managed by both the USDA Forest Service and the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management. SOLUTIONSRaising grazing fees would be a good start. The increased cost might encourage ranchers to find new ways to raise their animals instead of relying on subsidized use of public lands — and to protect fragile habitats in the process. In addition, federal legislation, the Voluntary Grazing Permit Retirement Act, would provide grazing permit holders the option to voluntarily waive their permits to graze on federal lands in exchange for market value compensation paid by private parties. The federal agency would then be directed to retire the associated grazing allotment from further grazing activity.  VICTORY! After almost a decade of efforts to legislatively reform the U.S. horse racing industry at the federal level, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) has claimed victory. The passage of the bill marks a historic moment for U.S. racing, which will protect racehorses from doping abuse and improve racetrack safety standards across the nation. The bicameral and bipartisan legislation, H.R.1754 and S.4547, was supported by almost 300 cosponsors in the House and Senate. Leading the bill in the House of Representatives were Congressmen Andy Barr (R-KY) and Paul Tonko (D-NY). Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Martha McSally (R-AZ) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) were the lead sponsors in the U.S. Senate. The House approved H.R.1754 by voice vote in September 2020. It was then passed to the Senate where it was approved to be included in the massive final FY21 spending package. The bill was officially signed into federal law by the President on Sunday evening, December 27th. NEXT STEPS: By law, the latest HISA can go into effect is July 1, 2022. The first step is the finalization of the "Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority", comprised of nine board positions. Five of the members will be independent seats and four seats will represent the racing industry. Two standing committees will also be established; an anti-doping and medication control committee and a racetrack safety committee. The chair of the anti-doping and medication control committee will be an independent member and the chair of the safety committee will be an industry member. The Authority is tasked with proposing rules, which then needs to be approved by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC will review programs developed by the Authority, and once ratified, they will go into effect. PUBLIC INPUT:With the FTC acting as the umbrella agency for HISA, all proposed rules will require a period for public comment. This opportunity is important, especially as the rules may include the restriction of the use of the riding crop, which would fall within the in-race and workout safety category. As with doping, horse whipping regulations currently vary across state lines. The passage of HISA truly marks a new era for U.S. racing, so please stay tuned for further alerts as proposed rules may be offered as early as the first quarter of 2021. |
TOPICS+ Horse Slaughter
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