EQUINE ADVOCATES PRESS RELEASE
CHATHAM, NY, April 22, 2013 – On the cusp of the 2013 Annual American Equine Summit hosted by the New York-based national equine protection organization Equine Advocates, the call to ban horse slaughter permanently has received much needed support from Robert Redford.
Actor, director, environmentalist and founder of the Sundance Festival, Redford wrote a letter to Equine Advocates President Susan Wagner to support the unequivocal stance that horse slaughter must be banned in the US. “Horses are acquired for slaughter without disclosure and often through fraud and misrepresentation. The entire slaughter process is cruel, inhumane and perpetuates abuse and neglect without consequences, in addition to condoning a violation of our nation’s cruelty laws,” said Redford. “As Americans, we have the right to oppose both the return of horse slaughter to the US and the transport of our wild and domestic equines to other countries for the purpose of slaughter.”
Redford joins a bilateral effort to reverse the advance of horse slaughter through public opinion and safety concerns, and legislation on both state and federal levels.
New York has become the latest state to push for a ban on horse slaughter with Senate Bill S.4615 and Assembly Bill A.3905. New York State Assemblyman Jim Tedisco, who will deliver the Keynote Address at the Summit, joined State Senator Kathy Marchione in co-sponsoring the bill at a press conference last week. If passed, New York State would join California, Illinois, New Jersey and Texas in prohibiting it.
The Obama administration’s proposed 2014 budget includes a proposal to essentially prevent equines from being slaughtered in the US by defunding FDA inspections. The recent bipartisan introduction of the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act would also prohibit the transport, export or import of horses intended for slaughter or horsemeat, leading the issue closer to the solution most Americans demand: Ban it.
“We applaud Robert Redford for his powerful, meaningful and profound words on behalf of America, at a time when over 80% of our citizens oppose horse slaughter,” said Wagner. “Beyond the sheer brutality of the practice, horse slaughter will enable dangerous FDA-banned drugs found in horsemeat to potentially threaten the US food supply if cross contamination occurs with other meat, like what’s happening across Europe. Horses are not bred for food and should be removed from the food chain.”
Experts, government officials and others will convene at Equine Advocates Rescue & Sanctuary in Chatham, NY Saturday, April 27 – Sunday, April 28 for the 2013 Annual American Equine Summit. For a full list of speakers, visit: http://www.equineadvocates.org/EquinesBlog/?p=765. Follow Summit News #AES2013.
Tuesday's Horse 
Come on the rest of Hollywood, ya cant make a movie without the horses, they are in almost every movie made !!!!! come on FORD MOTORS, the MUSTANG made You Billions !!!!!! Where are your Loyalties and the Respect ???
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Thank God for Robert Redford! Love that man!
-Danielle Titland
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Robert Redford is WRONG. Mr. Redford needs to get out from the bubble in which he probably lives. A dead horse is better than a starving/abused/neglected horse. Check out the horse slaughter trucks transporting horses to Mexico -sheer brutality – mares and stallions jammed into one truck – mares dropping foals in it only to get trapped on and killed. Horses dying on the way there from starvation and thirst. Horses being found in barns DEAD from abandonment and starvation. Get Real… A DEAD HORSE IS BETTER THAN A STARVED/NEGLECTED horse. Where else are they going to go? There are people willingly euthanizing their animals –it beats letting them starve to death…. I don’t care about the food FDA element to this argument. I care about the welfare of the horse….. Mr. Redford stick to acting. If you don’t buy what I’m saying ask the trainers around the country.. Buck Branaman and the like… These men have the welfare of the animal in mind —– not the regulations of the FDA…..
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I am really sorry you feel that way, to me the horses are so much more important then the fate you would have them endure…….To me it sounded more then cruel as much so as to say that rather then have a starving child you would rather Slaughter them instead thinking this is the answer, it is not !!!!! It is a life of the innocent we should be dealing with , inwhich death is never the answer or a solution , it is a way out for someone who cannot deal with the solution or does not care or want to bother themselves with looking for a living answer !!!!! Whether you can realize the great importance of the Horses in the Grand Scheme of all of our lives, We all share this Planet and all have very important roles, the Horses are extremely important Wildlife and the Land included , if you cant for that I am sorry for you !!!!!
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Genie, I think you need to get those facts straight. First of all R.Redford is WRIGHT for making his comments/opinion just like any of us. As for those starving/abused/neglected horses, there are LAWS to protect them & where they are not tough enough THEN BE THE CHANGE FOR ANIMAL CRUELTY!!! WHY do you think the horse should loose his life because of an irresponsible owner, arrogant owner, or just an ignorant one??? NO…they need/must be charged for what they cause ANY animal. DON’T BREED’EM IF YOU CAN’T FEED’EM is only one part of it. Racetracks have been making changes, however AQHA supports slaughter, why do you think they do? Incentives/memberships/registrations……ALL MEAN MONEY to these associations!!! Do you have any idea how many QH, TB & StdBDs are slaughtered?? Young, viable, good conditioned animals slaughtered….make any sense to you?
As for the ‘mares and stallions jammed into a truck’ who the hell’s fault is that? THE AUCTION, FEEDLOT, KILLBUYERS – ALL need their asses fired/charged & jailed! It’s pathetic what goes on at ALL auctions & it’s well past the time these places need to be policed. These trucks loaded with horses & the treatment of those horses need to be EXPOSED, many have & I suggest you view the video’s. BE the change….they do it because NOT ENOUGH OF US ARE REPORTING IT & demanding it end. Scream until you can’t scream anymore! If you see this abuse – expose them!
If you at all eat meat….you better care about what the FDA/USDA have to say…I personally don’t believe A LOT of what they ‘ok’. Example, the horse meat scandal underway now in EU.
Redford speaking out…great & I hope he brings more people with clout & MONEY to bring MORE awareness to shut this sickening predatory business down for good!! There is such a thing as HUMANE EUTHANASIA … NOT SLAUGHTER! You ask ‘where else are they going to go’? WELL lets talk about the ‘BREEDERS’ or the people who have hundreds of acres & throw out 40/50 mares with studs, then oh dear we can’t feed them all. YOU know why they do that …. cause slaughter has been their disposal site!! How ANYONE who cares/loves or is concerned for the WELFARE of a horse thinks for second that the road from auction, to feedlot, to slaughter is in the best interest of a horse, has not witnessed it from beginning to end. If someone who says ‘no problem with slaughter’ then I would think its because of a ‘business taking a hit or possibly a spokesperson for the cattle industry’ & pockets are being lined somewhere or perhaps has a vested interest along the line. Horse Welfare…no!
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We need to ask why they are allowing a two-time felon to open a slaughterhouse in New Mexico. In the New York Times there is a story on Mr. Santos and he actually hid from the USDA application twice that he has felonies! This is the type of people we know are attempting to get the industry running! This is very serious folks, we need to be asking the USDA and other agencies why and how this could happen and in America concealing a felony is also-guess what? A felony! So this man is not new to the deceptive practices that we are sooo afraid of with the slaughter industry re-opening, this has been a blackeye on the horse industry for many many years, and honestly I don’t wish any animals lives to be in the hands of someone like this in their final hours on this earth! Not only does he deceive but he has not even complied with what the USDA and FSIS is stating he has to comply with as of yet! We need to pressure the Senate and we also need to ask the White House, why if the USDA is required by Federal Law to obey the laws and not generate a permit to operate based on the fact he lied about felonies and continues to lie about felonies while other people are consistently denied jobs and arrested for breaking the law. Why is this man continuing to be allowed to pursue this. This is no longer a story about a genuine Hispanic business man just trying to operate a business, this has turned out to be a 2 possibly 3 time felon, hiring animal abusers to operate a business he lied and stated was compliant twice and so far has not been at all. This is not about the American dream, this is about the American shaft for the general public! We need to inform our government not to allow this in our food system and we are not talking about someone who reformed himself, educated himself, and has been an asset to his community in Roswell. This is a man who has disrupted the culture in the community and devalued it and given it a public black mark by lying about the background and criminal history to a government agency. Please look up the article in the times on the New Mexico plant getting one step closer to opening! This is crazy!
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Thank You Mr. Redford !!!!!!!! A true gentleman …………….in every sense !!! Bravo and God Bless !!!!!!! If Mr. Dean Martin was here I am sure he would be by your side , he also had a true passion for the Horses !!!!!!
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I do not want to live in fear of my 2200lb pride and joy percheron being stolen from me because of the amount of $$ someone will get for her. These are people’s family members.
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I hope something can be done to turn around the US Senate because right now there are very few cosponsors of senate bill S.541. H.R.1094 has at last count 74 cosponsors with more signing on everyday, not so with the sleazy senate.
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That’s why I buy his products and support what he does! He listens to us! We are the Horse people and he cares! Anyone who is brave enough to speak up deserves to have their products, movies, music, and everything purchased. My store backs the anti-slaughter bill and I am proud to do it! I sell more now than ever before because we actually care about horses and horse people!
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Well done Colt’s Western Shop!
And “Amen” to your comments Chris and Linda.
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A thank you goes to Robert Redford. I believe other well known people will join him in this endeavor!
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God bless Robert Redford.
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