Nothing makes the passions rise like animal consumption and cruelty, particularly with respect to horses. In fact, a bill to prohibit slaughter of horses for human consumption is one of the most commented upon here on WashingtonWatch.com.
So I’ll be interested to watch the latest in anti-horse-slaughter legislation. H.R. 6598, the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008, is a new bill that would provide penalties of up to three years in prison for transporting or trading in horses and horse flesh for human consumption.
It was introduced the same day as a bill to increase collection of data on animal cruelty crimes. That’s the Animal Cruelty Statistics Act of 2008, aka H.R. 6597.
Now, there’s some range of behavior that’s animal cruelty and all good people are against it. Query: Is slaughter of horses inherently cruel?
I know this question boils the blood for some. I’m not asking because I agree or disagree with this legislation. It’s something everyone ought to give some thought to because there are some pretty deep divisions on it in the country, and bills like this seek to decide that question once and for all.
Here’s what people think about H.R. 6598, the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008 and H.R. 6597, the Animal Cruelty Statistics Act of 2008. Click to vote, comment, learn more, or edit the wiki articles on the bills.


November 22, 1995 


