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- Referred to consumer protection
- Referred to consumer protection
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Prohibits the slaughter of horses for human consumption
In Assembly Committee · Agriculture · Sponsor Deborah Glick
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to prohibiting the slaughtering of horses for human consumption
Purpose
The amend the agriculture and markets law by adding a new section 380, to prohibit the slaughtering of horses for human consumption.
Summary of provisions
The agriculture and markets law shall be amended by adding a new section 380. This section will make it unlawful to slaughter a horse for human consumption. It shall be unlawful to purchase, trade, offer, transport or export a horse with the intent of it being slaughtered for human consumption. The term horse, includes all members of the equine family, including horses, ponies, donkeys, mules, asses, and burros. A violation of this law will be a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by both. In lieu of criminal prosecution, a civil penalty of up to one thousand dollars may be imposed on an individual, five thousand on a corporation for the first violation. Subsequent violations shall be punishable by fines up to twenty-five thousand dollars.
Justification
More than 49,000 horses were slaughtered in the United States in 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, an alarming 16% increase over the previous year. The vast majority of these horses are being slaughtered for human consumption abroad. The number of American horses going to slaughter has increased significantly given European and Japanese concerns about mad cow disease and the subsequent desire to find "safer" sources of meat.
Pet horses, work horses, racehorses and even wild horses go to slaughter. Most arrive at the slaughterhouse via livestock auctions where, often unknown to the seller, they are bought by middlemen working for the slaughter plants. These so-called "killer buyers" travel from one auction to the next collecting young, old, sick and healthy animals until their trucks are full. Some are shipped for more than 24 hours at a time without food, water or rest, and suffer horribly along the way.
Callous treatment of horses at the slaughterhouse often results in their prolonged suffering. Panicked horses are prodded and beaten off the truck and into the kill-chute. The improper use of stunning equipment, designed to render the animal unconscious with a swift shot to the head, means that horses sometimes endure repeated blows and remain conscious during their own slaughter. This bill would ensure that such cruelty and blatant disregard of one of America's most majestic and noble creatures will no longer be tolerated in New York State.
Legislative history
S.1462/A.2572 of 2007-08, passed Senate; S.1788 of 2005-06.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.