Wild Horses and Burros could enjoy added protections thanks to a bill filed by US Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL).
Representative Luna’s Wild Horse Integrity and Slaughter Prevention Act would expand protections and create criminal sanctions by amending the Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.
The amendments include reducing bureaucratic adoption wait times and installing felony qualifications for transferring a wild horse or burro to a foreign jurisdiction for commercial processing.
The horse meat industry has had a troubled history in the United States, as horse meat has generally been rejected by consumers and legislators alike.
In 2006, the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act was passed, canceling all federal and commercial funding for key industry operations, effectively killing the business.
However, according to Luna, the Wild Horse and Burro industry has attempted to circumvent prohibitions by acquiring and exporting the animals to countries without such prohibitions.
“Although the United States has banned horse slaughter facilities, many individuals are still seeking to circumvent our laws and profit off of these federally-protected animals by shipping them off to slaughterhouses abroad,” said Luna. “My bill would incentivize the adoption of wild horses and burros to individuals who truly seek to care for the animals while disincentivizing criminals seeking to adopt the animals for nefarious purposes by charging them with a felony.”
Luna’s bill would shorten the required wait-time for adopting Wild Horses and Burros from 12 to 6 months.
Additionally, individuals who export adopted Wild Horses or Burros to foreign jurisdictions to convert them to commercial products would be fined up to $2000 and imprisoned for up to one year.
According to the Bureau of Land Management, the states with the highest Wild Horse and Burro populations are California, Oregon, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, Arizona and Texas.
