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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Horse processing is the most tightly regulated | ||||||
| 3 | animal harvest; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, Horse processing is the only animal processing for | ||||||
| 5 | which
transportation is regulated; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, The Horse Welfare Coalition estimates that | ||||||
| 7 | annually 90,000 to 100,000 unwanted horses will be
exposed to | ||||||
| 8 | potential abandonment and neglect if horse processing plants | ||||||
| 9 | are
forced to close and horse export options are eliminated; | ||||||
| 10 | and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Those 90,000 to 100,000 unwanted horses will | ||||||
| 12 | compete each year for adoption with the
32,000 wild horses that | ||||||
| 13 | United States taxpayers are
currently paying $40 million to | ||||||
| 14 | shelter and feed; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, The nation's inadequate, overburdened, and | ||||||
| 16 | unregulated horse rescue and adoption facilities cannot handle | ||||||
| 17 | the influx of approximately
60,000 or more additional horses | ||||||
| 18 | each year that would result
from a harvesting ban, according to | ||||||
| 19 | the Congressional Research Service; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, Many zoo animal diets rely on equine protein | ||||||
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| 1 | because it
closely resembles the food that the zoo animal would | ||||||
| 2 | consume in the wild; and
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| 3 | WHEREAS, Many veterinarians and animal nutritionists | ||||||
| 4 | assert that equine
protein is the healthiest diet for big cats | ||||||
| 5 | and rare birds; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, The only source of equine protein that is | ||||||
| 7 | inspected by the
United States Department of Agriculture will | ||||||
| 8 | be eliminated if federal
legislation shuts down horse | ||||||
| 9 | processing facilities; therefore, be it
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| 10 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 11 | NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 12 | respectfully urge all members of the Illinois congressional | ||||||
| 13 | delegation to support the continuation of horse processing in | ||||||
| 14 | the United States and to offer incentives that help create | ||||||
| 15 | horse processing plants, such as state-inspected horse harvest | ||||||
| 16 | for export; and be it further
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| 17 | RESOLVED, That we respectfully urge the Congress of the
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| 18 | United States to support new horse processing facilities and | ||||||
| 19 | the continuation
of existing facilities on both the state and | ||||||
| 20 | national level; and be it further
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| 21 | RESOLVED, That we respectfully urge the United States House | ||||||
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| 1 | of Representatives and Senate to oppose H.R. 503 and S. 727 of | ||||||
| 2 | the 111th Congress and to
support the processing of horses in | ||||||
| 3 | the United States and internationally; and be it further
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| 4 | RESOLVED, That we support the location of United States | ||||||
| 5 | Department of Agriculture-approved horse processing facilities
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| 6 | on state, tribal, or private lands under mutually acceptable | ||||||
| 7 | and market-driven land leases and, if necessary, a mutually | ||||||
| 8 | acceptable assignment of
revenues that meets the needs of all | ||||||
| 9 | parties involved with the horse
processing facility; and be it | ||||||
| 10 | further
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| 11 | RESOLVED, That after adoption, copies of this resolution
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| 12 | shall be sent by the Clerk of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 13 | Representatives to the
members of Illinois congressional | ||||||
| 14 | delegation, the President pro tempore of the United
States | ||||||
| 15 | Senate, and the Speaker of the United States House of | ||||||
| 16 | Representatives.
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