Augusta Free Press

Special to The Augusta Free Press
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06-17-2004

Right on
Julia Durfee's article Horses and American Values [06-16-04 AFP] was right on and full of factual information.

Bob Goodlatte is not interested in the will of the American people, or his colleagues for that matter. HR 857, the American Horse Protection Act is just sitting in Bob's committee with 224 cosponsors. The support for this bill is there, but Bob just wants to sweep that under the rug because of some small special-interest groups in which he is involved. To me this is not good politics and is not right to the American people.

Bob needs to let this bill out of committee and have faith in his colleagues in the House to vote appropriately on this bill.

- Julie Caramante, Pearland, Texas


Bill hijacked by congressman
I could not agree more with Julia Durfee and her views on horse slaughter for human consumption.

Bob Goodlatte has hijacked the bill HR 857 and is holding it hostage for his own selfish political gain. He is not behaving like a public servant who looks out for the public interests.

As Julia said, 91 percent of Americans are opposed to slaughter of our horses for human consumption by the French and Belgians. Why should Americans have to fight their own legislators as well as the foreigners who come here to exploit our horses for their financial gain?

Wake up, Bob Goodlatte. You may not have all the support you need to continue on in your narrow little world. So far we do still have the right to vote.

The bottom line is, there are multitudes of rescuers that will take in horses when someone can no longer keep their horse. We are one such organization, www.racefund.org. Horses in America do not need to go to Texas to be brutally slaughtered by the foreigners.

- Patricia Bewley, Phoenix, Ariz.

(Publishers' Note: Ms. Bewley is the vice president and cofounder of the Retirement Assistance and Care for Equines Fund, Phoenix, Ariz., chapter.)


The fact of the matter
Julie Durfee's editorial simply states the facts. We elect our representatives to represent us. They are not doing their job when they go against the wishes of 91 percent of the American people.

This isn't about sentiment or animal rights. This is about the responsibility of an elected official to do what his constituents wish. Opposing legislation that a vast majority of Americans support simply makes Mr. Goodlatte look like the stereotypical arrogant politician who would rather serve special interests with deep pockets than the people who put him in office.

As a Republican, I am saddened that he would dishonor the memory of President Reagan, an avid horseman and lifetime horse owner, by his stance on this issue. I hope that Mr. Goodlatte will reconsider his position and remember that his title is Representative - not King.

- Cathy Atkinson, Santa Monica, Calif.


Amen!
To Ms Julia Durfee's article, I say AMEN!

We have been battling long and hard to get this issue heard, and one man stands in the way. One man who is ignoring his collegues who stood up to cosponsor the bill. One man who ignores thousands of Americans who say this is what they want.

This one man has made the decision for all of us that he can hold up a bill just because he wants to. This one man has stood up and shouted about presidential appointees being held up by one person and then does the same thing.

I don't know what his reasons are; you will have to ask him. I have heard that his goal is to have record-setting exports for this year, and he doesn't care where they come from.

Well, Rep Goodlatte, we do care, and care deeply. My horses are in danger, and I expect that my government will do something to protect my property.

When California banned horse slaughter, horse theft decreased by 34-40 percent (depending on whose statistics you look at). Abuse and neglect cases didn't go up, they declined slightly. They didn't attack the meat industry like it was whispered in a shout.

While Cavel in Illinois wasn't operating, the horse theft in Illinois also showed a decline. Why? Because the market for stolen horses is the slaughter plants. They are the unregulated pawn shops of the horse industry.

The difference is that if your house gets robbed and the items are sold to a pawn shop, you will get them back. Horse owners do not recover a live horse from the slaughter plants. They are given a few dollars and the hide of their pet. Gee thanks, how generous.

We aren't asking the Congress to dictate what people eat in other countries. They can eat whatever they want; they can eat their own horses. We are asking that our property, our pets, be protected.

We don't force India to export its beef to us, and we shouldn't be forced to export our horses to those that eat them.

Horses are a large part of our culture, our heritage and our nation. One man shouldn't be able to to take that from us.

- Shelley Sawhook, Memphis, Tenn.

(Publishers' Note: Ms. Sawhook is the president of the United Equine Foundation, which can be found on the Web at unitedequinefoundation.com.)


The views expressed by letter writers do not necessarily reflect those of management of The Augusta Free Press.

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