ONE VOICE—Kimme Isaiah Black, a resident of the Santa Rosa Valley and a horse owner, organized a demonstration at Hillcrest Drive and Lynn Road in December to bring awareness to a recent change in the law that could allow for the revival of horse slaughter in the U.S. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers Kimme Isaiah Black wants help in her fight to prevent the horse-slaughtering industry, essentially nonexistent in the U.S. since 2005, from resurfacing this year.

The Santa Rosa Valley resident recently organized a rally to raise awareness of a provision in the appropriations bill signed into law by President Barack Obama in November that opens a door to processing plants that kill horses for human consumption.

On a must-pass bill, legislators quietly removed the 2005 language that prohibited the use of taxpayer dollars to fund horse inspections, Black says. The inspections were necessary to process horses into meat for public consumption.

SPEAKING UP—Sylvia Landon, left, and Aria Edry joined Black, center, on Dec. 15 in protest of a decision by Congress to remove language from the law that prohibited the use of taxpayer money to fund inspections of horses to be sold as food. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers Horse meat is on the table in a number of countries in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world. Americans ate horse meat as recently as the 1940s.

Black and several of her friends spent about an hour at Hillcrest Drive and Lynn Road in Thousand Oaks on Dec. 15 commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act and holding placards and shouting messages to motorists and passers-by.

“I can’t sit back and just allow this to happen,” she said.

“If it’s too big—if it’s a tidal wave—and it’s going to happen, then it’s going to happen. But I’m not going to be a part of it.”

In response to the change in the law, 152 members of Congress are co-sponsoring the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 2966) that would not only impose a federal ban but broaden the law to prohibit transport of horses to slaughterhouses outside the U.S.

The last three American slaughter facilities, in Texas and Illinois, were closed down four years ago. But U.S. horses have continued going to such facilities in Mexico and Canada.

Black, who owns three horses, is calling on equine lovers and animal advocates to join national organizations such as the Animal Welfare Institute, Veterinarians for Equine Welfare and the Humane Society of the United States in supporting the ban on horse slaughterhouses.

“It’s inconceivable to me that anybody would consider opening a horse slaughter industry in this country of all countries,” Black said, adding that the horses symbolize the nation’s self-image of freedom, bravery and honor. “It’s a failure on the part of one of the wealthiest nations in the (world) to protect its defenseless . . . and helpless.”

Supporters of the processing plants say horses have suffered since the shutdown of the industry, killed by the 2005 legislation that took effect the following year.

Dave Duquette, president of Wyoming-based United Horsemen, said the number of neglected, abandoned and abused horses around the country has risen significantly.

Owners with a sick horse or those who can’t afford to care for their horses have few options without slaughterhouses around, he said.

“And because they’re a thousand pound animal, you’re not able to bury them in your backyard,” Duquette said. “They’re considered livestock in every state in the union; without the slaughter option there’s no way out for them.”

Duquette said the operation of horse-processing plants in the United States established a basic price for the animals, and without the plants the value of horses has dropped.

Capitol Hill supporters of the plants include U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) and U.S. Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.).

On his website, Baucus said the legislation could help bring jobs back to the country. Smith stated on his website that responsible horse-processing is “good for horses, good for owners and is good policy.”

Both men pointed to a June report by the General Accounting Office on unintended consequences of the shutdown of the horse slaughter industry.

The report states that the industry’s fall has not decreased the number of U.S. horses bought for slaughter. Horses can be bought at U.S. auctions and shipped to facilities in Canada and Mexico to be processed into meat. The report said that has resulted in horses traveling greater distances with the threat of not having adequate rest, food and water and being in transports that aren’t large enough.

Proponents of the plants also say that federal inspections on American soil can help ensure horses are killed in a humane way, but there is no control on facilities outside the country.

Barbara Kloster, a Thousand Oaks resident and founder of the Day of the Horse parade in T.O., acknowledged that some owners have neglected and abandoned their horses, skipping out on their responsibility in difficult economic times.

But she said that, as with any other companion animal, an unwanted horse should be turned over to a rescue group or shelter that will care for the animal, not sent to a slaughterhouse.

“I’m not a tree hugger; I’m just an advocate for animals,” Kloster said. “Whether it’s an animal or child, no matter what it is, take responsibility.”

According to the GAO report, 346,000 horses were slaughtered in 1990 in this country, dropping to 42,300 in 2002. The number of domestic slaughtering facilities also declined from 16 in the 1980s to two in 2002.

But the industry saw a threeyear surge in 2003, when 50,000 horses were slaughtered. By 2006, the last full year of U.S. slaughter operations, nearly 105,000 horses were killed for their meat, the report stated.