State and Federal Legislative Activities
| DATE | VENUE | ACTIVITY | RESULT |
| November 1998 | California | Proposition 6 Banning Horse Slaughter Passed by Nearly 5 Million California Voters | SUCCESSFUL. |
| July 2001 | 107th Congress, 1st Session | H.R. 2622, “Helping Out to Rescue and Save Equines Act,” introduced by U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (NY-27) on July 25, 2001, “To prohibit the interstate transport of horses for the purpose of slaughter or horse flesh intended for human consumption, and for other purposes,” and referred to House Cmte on Agriculture.
Referred to House Subcommittee on Livestock and Horticulture on August 1, 2001. See Thomas.gov |
Unsuccessful. H.R. 2622 died in Cmte. It had 8 co-sponsors. |
| January 2002 | Massachusetts | State Ballot Initiative Banning Horse Slaughter | Unsuccessful. Fails to get 57,100 signatures by 3,174 in bait and switch tactic. |
| February 2002 | 107th Congress, 2nd Session | H.R. 3781, “The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act,” introduced by Rep. Constance Morella (MD-8) on February 14, 2002, and referred to House Agriculture Committee, House International Committee and House Ways and Means Committe.
Referred to House Subcommittee on Livestock and Horticulture on February 25, 2002. See Congress.gov. |
Unsuccessful.
H.R. 3781 (commonly referred by anti-horse slaughter activists as the “Morella Bill”, was “three-committee-ed” which is a death knell to any piece of legislation. It had 65 co-sponsors, and never received a hearing in any of the committees it was assigned to. The 107th was Rep. Morella’s last Congress. |
| February 2002 | Texas | State Rep. Tony Goolsby, Chairman of the Committee on House Administration, solicits Texas Attorney General John Cornyn for an Opinion re: enforceability of Texas Agriculture Code Section 149 which bans live horse slaughter for human consumption. | See below. |
| August 2002 | Texas | See above. | Attorney General John Cornyn issues Opinion that horse slaughter is illegal in Texas. |
| September 2002 | USDC, Northern District of Texas, Ft. Worth Division | Beltex and Dallas Crown Sue in Federal Court to Block Prosecutors from Closing Plants following Cornyn Opinion. | Judge Terry Means rules in favor of slaughter plants in 2005. |
Compiled by Vivian Grant Farrell
Fund for Horses 