Bill to strengthen Horse Protection Act introduced to Senate

The neb aimed at strengthening America’s Horse Protection Act inwards a bid to postage stamp out the illegal exercise of soring has been introduced to the USA Senate.

On July 31, only earlier breaking for the August recess, Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) together with Mark Warner
(D-VA) introduced the Prevent All Soring Tactics Act of 2013. The Senate neb is the same every bit the legislation already introduced inwards the House, which straight off has 137 cosponsors.

The American Horse Council has thrown its back upward behind bill.

The neb is intended to add together teeth to the Horse Protection Act (HPA), which was enacted inwards 1970 to prohibit the showing, exhibiting, transporting or sale at auction of a Equus caballus that has been sored.

The USA Department of Agriculture (USDA) enforces the HPA. It deems soring to involve the role of activity devices, chemicals, pads, or wedges to campaign hurting inwards a horse’s forelegs together with create an accentuated demo gait for competition.

According to the USDA, soring has been primarily used alongside Tennessee Walking Horses, Racking Horses, together with Spotted Saddle Horses together with continues despite the existence of a federal ban for over forty years.

The neb focuses on those breeds past times amending the HPA to prohibit a Tennessee Walking Horse, a Racking Horse, or a Spotted Saddle Horse from beingness shown, exhibited, or auctioned alongside an activity device, or a weighted shoe, pad, hoof band or other device if it is constructed to artificially modify the gait of the Equus caballus together with is non strictly protective or therapeutic.

The novel prohibitions would non apply to other breeds together with would non prohibit the role of therapeutic pads, or bell boots or quarter boots that are used every bit protective devices.

“The Equus caballus demo manufacture has been living alongside the HPA for over forty years,” said Jay Hickey, president of the American Horse Council.

“However, the base of operations for USDA enforcement of the Act is the showing, exhibition, auction or carry of a sore horse.

“For this reason, the USDA has focused its efforts on those segments of the demo community that involve breeds together with activities that are closed to often involved inwards soring.

“If a breed or plain of report is non soring its horses to exaggerate their gaits, together with then every bit a practical thing the Act has probable non adversely affected them together with the neb to improve the Act, if passed, volition non deport upon them whatever to a greater extent than than electrical current law.”

The legislation would every bit good increase fines together with penalties for violations for soring, including the potential for a lifetime ban for repeat offenders.

The neb would do a novel licensing procedure for Equus caballus demo inspectors, eliminating the electrical current programme that uses industry-affiliated designated qualified persons (DQPs).

This programme has been criticized because DQPs are often non independent of the manufacture they are inspecting.

Under the bill, the USDA would hold upward required to develop together with license the novel independent inspectors for shows together with other HPA-regulated activities that wishing to hire an inspector.

Licensed or accredited veterinarians would hold upward given preference for these positions. The determination to hire an inspector, however, would soundless hold upward up to the show, sale or auction. It would non hold upward made mandatory.

Shows or sales that employ DQPs straight off would start using USDA-selected inspectors. Shows or sales that conduct non to role DQPs straight off would non hold upward required to role them should the neb pass.

“The AHC supports this legislation, every bit does the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the American Morgan Horse Association, the American Paint Horse Association, the Pinto Horse Association of America, the American Quarter Horse Association, the American Saddlebred Horse Association, the Appaloosa Horse club, the Arabian Horse Association, the Maryland Horse Council, the United Professional Horsemen’s Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association together with other Equus caballus groups,” said Hickey.

“The neb focuses on the problems it is intended to solve together with does non adversely deport upon other segments of the demo manufacture that are non soring horses together with accept no history of soring horses.”

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