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More than 3,500 letters poured into OFBF’s state office recently, expressing their concern about proposed federal legislation that would ban the slaughter of horses. The letters are part of an Ohio Farm Bureau campaign to inform members of Congress that banning the slaughter of horses could have a devastating ripple effect on the livestock industry.

"We strongly oppose any effort to prohibit equine processing. This would infringe on producers’ rights to manage livestock," said Adam Sharp, OFBF’s senior director of national and regulatory affairs.

The 3,605 letters, written by Farm Bureau members from all over the state, were delivered this month to congressional offices in Washington as well as at their state offices. County Farm Bureau leaders were asked to help deliver the letters in their local districts so they could have one-on-one contact with lawmakers or their aides, Sharp said.

Last fall the House passed a bill that would no longer allow horses to be processed according to current humane practices. The Senate recessed last year before taking up the bill, but the issue is back. This spring the House passed a bill aimed at curbing wild horse sales, and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation voted 15-7 recently to ban the processing of all horses. Sharp said he anticipates the full House and Senate will vote on the horse slaughter ban bills this year.

"This bill would set a dangerous precedent because it would be the first time that a livestock practice would be banned for reasons other than food safety or public health," he said.

Banning horses from being slaughtered also could lead to neglect of the animals, said Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.

"Animal rights organizations are preying on people’s emotions and touting their devotion to horses but still offer no alternatives for what to do with these animals," Stallman said recently in a column. "The existing horse shelters are full and there is no funding for new ones."

Last year about 100,000 horses, many unwanted, were sold to processing facilities. If Congress bans the processing of horses, some animals could be neglected because animal rights groups have no solution for what to do with the animals, Sharp said.

"This will be ending a humane end of life option for the animals. There’s no money put in the bill to take in these horses," he said. "Who is going to pay for it? Who is going to take care of these horses that are no longer wanted?"

Stallman warned that banning horse slaughter based on emotion and not food safety or science sets a bad precedent for the livestock industry.

"This could lead to additional banning of common agricultural practices for other types of livestock," Sharp said. "There are radical animal rights groups that are pushing for other traditional livestock to fall under this ban."

Art: A stack of more than 3,500 letters from OFBF members opposing a a horse slaughter ban await delivery to legislators.