A New Year’s Message from Equine Advocates President Susan Wagner

Equine Advocates’ New Year’s Resolution

Making sure that any federal bill that bans the slaughter of horses must prohibit it for both human and animal consumption.

Dear Friends,

I hope you had a safe and enjoyable holiday season!

I also hope you share the same sentiment as our special New Year’s resolution about the importance of finally passing a ban on horse slaughter that gets the whole job done without loopholes. Let’s be clear: To the Horse, it makes no difference if he or she is slaughtered for human consumption or animal consumption. Slaughter is slaughter! The cruelty and the suffering are exactly the same, so let’s get it right once and for all! We owe it to our horses to end slaughter for any purpose and for any kind of consumption. Nothing less is acceptable.

With 2026 now here, I would like to quickly get to the point, as the fate of America’s wild and domestic equines could be decided during the new 119th Congress. The vast majority of Americans want a total ban on horse slaughter, but there are a few in the minority who seem to be okay with having just a little slaughter. No can do!

Now with 220 cosponsors, the Save America’s Forgotten Equines, or SAFE, Act (H.R. 1661/S.775) could qualify to be taken forward as a discharge petition and brought to the House floor for a vote. We strongly urge the bill’s official sponsor, Florida Congressman Vern Buchanan, to amend the bill, as it only addresses the slaughter of horses for human consumption. It does not address horses slaughtered for animal consumption, which is a huge problem and needs to be fixed. This issue can easily be corrected by removing the word “human” from the bill, so it solely reads for “consumption.” That would cover banning the slaughter of horses for both human and animal (pet/zoo food) consumption.

New York State’s historic horse slaughter ban, passed into law in 2023, is a great model for what a total horse slaughter ban should look like. It prohibits the slaughter of horses (including ponies, donkeys, and mules) for human or animal consumption. The SAFE Act just needs to have the word “human” removed. How simple is that?

Another simple, but extremely important, amendment to the SAFE Act is to add the word “intra” (meaning within a state), thus ensuring protection for horses in three vital areas. The bill already prohibits equines being shipped for slaughter to other countries (for “export”) as well as crossing into other states for that purpose (“interstate”). But the prohibition also needs to include slaughter within a state. Adding the word “intra” to the bill would accomplish that goal.

I really want to support the SAFE Act and will do so enthusiastically, but cannot at this point since some of the same horses who would have gone over the border into Mexico for human consumption would still be allowed to go over for pet food or other forms of animal consumption. While there is no horsemeat found in pet food produced or distributed within the U.S., Mexico has a vast and growing multi-brand $8 billion-a-year pet food industry that distributes worldwide into less regulated channels. If dealers are prohibited from exporting for human consumption, they will choose the second-best option of pet food for disposal and some return on investment. Also, some zoos and sanctuaries still feed horse meat to large cats and other carnivores despite the dangers and serious health risks of feeding contaminated horse meat. The bill, as written, would not protect horses from being slaughtered for any form of animal consumption.

After more than three decades of failing to pass a law banning horse slaughter (thanks primarily to certain factions of the horse industry, the ranching industry, as well as the “friendly fire”), why should we not insist on a total horse slaughter ban and get rid of this repugnant practice once and for all? The market for horseflesh for human consumption has decreased dramatically over the years, from hundreds of thousands annually in the 1990s to between 20,000 and 30,000 today. Ending the slaughter of horses for human consumption would be a great thing, but that only gets half the job done. Why pass an incomplete bill when we could end the slaughter and ultimate betrayal of America’s wild and domestic equines by removing “human” and adding “intra” to the language of the bill? Just two simple changes of two little words would get the job done! What gives? Why not? Who doesn’t want a total horse slaughter ban to pass?

I founded Equine Advocates in 1996, three years after I rescued my first horse from slaughter. I am just one of many advocates who have been involved with trying to end this American atrocity for decades. Members of Congress may believe they are voting on a bill to ban horse slaughter, but unless the SAFE Act is amended, they will be voting on a half-ban rather than a full one.

We will keep you updated on any new developments. In the meantime, please check to see if any of your Representatives have become cosponsors of this bill. Ask your Representative if he or she would support adding the two simple amendments I outlined here. Also, we’re asking everyone to please contact Congressman Vern Buchanan and ask him to amend the SAFE Act so it would completely ban the slaughter of horses for consumption of any kind. We owe it to our horses to end this betrayal entirely.

What an amazing day for celebration it would be if we could finally get this done!

In other news, we are extremely excited about the plans for our new Equine Rehabilitation Center and Veteran Horses Compound, which will be built on the additional 33 acres of adjacent farmland that we acquired at the end of 2023. We have already gotten a lot of the preliminary work done that was needed to get us to this point. We are now almost ready to embark on the next phase of this project that will ultimately grow our operation and increase the ways we can help horses with special needs or recovering from injuries or illnesses. I will be sure to keep you updated as we continue to move forward. As the saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day!”

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who has been supporting Equine Advocates, as we could not do our humane work without the generosity and compassion of those who care as deeply about horses as we do.

Best wishes to you and yours for a very safe and happy New Year!

Most sincerely,

Susan Wagner, President