Following the suspension of live horse exports to Mexico to help combat New World screwworm outbreaks, a coalition of lawmakers is now calling for permanent protections to ban the export of horses for slaughter.
“There is broad opposition among Americans to horse slaughter, and ending this export pipeline would align federal policy with those views while advancing animal welfare,” read a letter to President Donald Trump led by Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL-16) and signed by 16 other Republican lawmakers. “A permanent ban on the export of American horses for slaughter would help protect horses from cruelty, strengthen our defenses against New World Screwworm and uphold American values.”
Buchanan introduced the Save America’s Forgotten Equines Act earlier last year, which would ban the transportation of horses for slaughter for human consumption. Companion legislation was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM).
