Everyone,
         We have been having a discussion of the following on our KCDS email list. I wanted other people to be aware of this new policy adopted by congress and signed in by Bush as an add on to a huge bill at the very end of the legislative session. I feel that those of us that agree that this is a problem for horses and many birds it appears, should protest. I know not everyone agrees, but healthy discussion in my mind is appropriate and needed.
           I will be sending other messages for your information.
            Linda Landers

The Humane Society of the United States also has a website that will assist you
in commenting to your representatives on the bill:

http://hsus.ga4.org/campaign/FED_2004_wild_horses

This is what the HSUS has to say about the bill that contained the provision
we're discussing:

Issue 324 - Dec 01, 2004 12:00 AM EST

Appropriations Bill a Mixed Bag for Animals
Congress has again failed in its obligation to pass the annual appropriations
bills in a democratic way, and has resorted to lumping most of the
appropriations bills into one large end-of-year package called an "omnibus"
spending bill. Such bills are perfect vehicles for mischief by industry
lobbyists and House and Senate leaders. This massive legislation, written by a
handful of legislators and procedurally handled in a way so as to prevent any
amendments by legislators to strike publicly unacceptable provisions, produced
generally bad results for animals.

Most devastating was the surprise inclusion of a "rider" that severely
undermines the federal Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Protection Act (Wild
Horse Act). Slipped in by Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) without any public
discussion or hearings and no opportunity for a separate vote of the Senate, the
rider directs the federal government to sell our nation's wild horses to the
highest bidders, without any of the protections that currently prevent the
shipment of these animals to the slaughterhouse.

Equally awful was a rider that weakened the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by
removing more than 94 species of birds from the protections of the federal
law—arbitrarily declaring them "non-native" despite the fact that federal
treaties and federal courts have stated that these birds are covered. We must
change the federal law back again to protect horses and migratory birds with
your help (see below).

On the other hand, a nefarious rider that would have encouraged the spread of
factory farming did not make it into the final bill, thanks in large part to
public outcry. The rider, authored by Senator Larry Craig (R-ID), would have
exempted factory farms from requirements of reporting toxic chemical releases
into the environment.

On the funding front, there were a few bright spots for animals. Despite intense
pressure to cut domestic programs, funding was sustained with even a few small
increases for enforcement of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act and the Animal
Welfare Act (AWA), including targeted funding for the AWA's animal fighting
prohibitions.

What You Can Do

Please contact your two U.S. senators and your U.S. representative. Let them
know you are horrified that wild horses and migratory birds will be slaughtered
because of language slipped into the omnibus package. Tell them you want them to
fix these problems in the next Congress







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