Groups press Congress to halt horse slaughter

WASHINGTON — Animal rights groups mounted a final effort Tuesday to push through a ban on U.S. horse slaughterhouses in the closing days of Congress, displaying graphic videos and wielding a letter of support from more than a fourth of the Senate's 100 members.

The legislation, which would shut down three processing plants in Texas and Illinois, passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 263-146 in mid-October after a high-profile campaign that included celebrities such as country music star Willie Nelson and actress Bo Derek.

Animal rights groups and their supporters say the horses are kept and transported in inhumane conditions as part of a "slaughter pipeline" that reaches across the U.S. border and ends with brutal deaths. Opponents of the bill argue that the U.S. plants are needed to prevent a surplus of unwanted horses and that the horses are killed instantly and humanely.

With the outgoing Republican-controlled Congress scheduled to adjourn by the weekend, supporters of the measure are frantically trying to push the bill through the Senate, acknowledging that it could be squeezed out by more pressing issues, including a giant spending measure and Robert Gates' nomination to be defense secretary.

Twenty-seven senators, including the bill's sponsors, Sens. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Mary Landrieu, D-La., called on the Senate leadership to allow a vote on the bill and "end this slaughter once and for all."

Despite the last-minute push, the bill faces stiff opposition. Brent Gattis, a senior policy adviser at the Washington law firm of Ollson Frank & Weeda who represents the industry, said that as many as 11 senators have indicated that they'll take steps to block consideration if Senate leaders bring it up.

The bill's signers included members from both parties. Among them: Sens. Trent Lott, R-Miss., Ted Stevens, R-Alaska; Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.; Joseph Biden, D-Del.; John Kerry, D-Mass., and California's two Democratic senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.

The Humane Society of the United States and the Society for Animal Protective Legislation released video footage showing horses being put to death in slaughterhouses in Juarez, Mexico, and Montreal.

Another video clip, made several years ago, was of a horse being killed by a bolt gun, which is commonly used to kill beef cattle. Humane Society of the United States CEO Wayne Pacelle said the video was made in the Beltex plant in Fort Worth, Texas, but Beltex officials have disputed that claim, saying they believe it was shot elsewhere.