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HORSE SORING AND ANIMAL FIGHTING

Marty Irby Executive Director, Animal Wellness Action

September 2021 the U.S. House passed two bipartisan animal protection amendments that enhance enforcement of existing laws which desperately need your support.

The H.R. 3055 amendments seek to dedicate funding to the enforcement of our federal anti-cruelty laws to stop animal fighting, animal crushing, and the soring of Tennessee Walking Horses, Racking, and Spotted Saddle Horses, and other malicious acts of cruelty.

Final passage of H. R. 3055 is pending so contact your representative now! See link below.

“Animal abusers should know we will continue to take action at every turn to end the horrific practices of soring Tennessee Walking Horses and animal fighting,” said Marty Irby, executive director at Animal Wellness Action and a past president of the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ & Exhibitors’ Association.

Marty says “Fighting roosters or dogs and soring the feet of horses is illegal, and the Horse Protection Act, and animal fighting laws should be enforced. We applaud Reps. Haley Stevens and Joe Neguse for their successful leadership to marshal more resources to help end this abuse.”

Congress has taken meaningful steps … in the past few years to improve animal welfare and rid this country of heartless animal cruelty.

“I would like to make the intent of this amendment clear that Congress is directing the DOJ is Environment and Natural Resources Division to allocate $2 million to enforce our nation's animal welfare laws,” said U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens.

Amendment #85, which passed by a roll call vote of 381 to 50 instructs the Department of Justice to use $2 million from the Legal Activities account to enforce animal welfare crimes.

“I was honored to lead this bipartisan, commonsense amendment to secure funds for USDA investigations of animal fighting,” said U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse. “Enforcement by USDA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG), which is responsible for investigating these crimes, has badly lagged. With adequate funding moving forward, the OIG can better identify and intervene in these horrific crimes, and ultimately bring these cruel activities to an end. Addressing these crimes will not only help prevent the suffering of animals, but will also deter the drug trafficking, gang violence, and other violence against people that goes hand-in-hand with animal fighting activities.”

The amendment is sponsored by Reps. Haley Stevens (D-MI), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Joe Neguse (D-CO), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Ben McAdams (D-UT), Peter King (R-NY), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Vern Buchanan (R-FL), and Cindy Axne (D-IA).

The amendment was offered for the purpose of directing the Department of Justice to allocate resources to enforce federal criminal statutes to stop animal cruelty, including the federal animal fighting laws, the Horse Protection Act that was intended to wipe out the scourge of soring (“the intentional injuring of Tennessee Walking Horses’ front limbs to produce and artificial high-stepping gait known as the “big lick””) and the Animal Welfare Act.

The DOJ and USDA must actively enforce federal laws and failure to do so puts vulnerable animals and communities in serious danger.

Amendment #116 provides $1 million dollars for the enforcement of the animal fighting law through the USDA’s Office of Inspector General. The amendment is sponsored by Reps. Joe Neguse (D-CO), Peter King (R-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Ben McAdams (D-UT), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), and Ron Estes (R-KS).

The Congress has upgraded the federal law against animal fighting (7 U.S.C. ? 2156 and 18 U.S.C. ? 49) five times in the last two decades, and this amendment signals to USDA that it should aggressively crack down on dogfighting and cockfighting, including the U.S. territories.

Each of these amendments to H.R. 3055, are championed by Animal Wellness Action and the Animal Wellness Foundation, who are advocating on Capitol Hill to ensure that animals have a voice in the U.S. Congress and are also supported by the Center for a Humane Economy, Karner Blue Capital, the American Horse Protection Society, and the Horses for Life Foundation.

H.R. 3055 includes five FY 2020 spending bills: Commerce-Justice-Science, Agriculture-Rural Development-FDA, Interior-Environment, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development.

The advancement of these amendments comes on the heels of the announcement made earlier this week by Animal Wellness Action and the Animal Wellness Foundation regarding the establishment of the Animal Wellness National Law Enforcement Council (NLEC) co-chaired by former Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson, and former Oregon District Attorney Josh Marquis.

See VIDEO of results of hoof soring showing the sought-after “big lick” gait.

Marty Irby was named one of Washington DC’s top lobbyists in 2021. He has been published by USA Today, NBC News and other major outlets. In 2012 Marty was officially recognized by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for his work to protect horses. NetPlaces Network welcomes Marty Irby as a vital news and legislative contributor.

Editor’s Note: We have known Marty for years and no person works harder to stop horse and animal cruelty. Call and email your Congressional Representatives NOW!  ii Contact Info for YOUR Governor, Senators, and Congressional Representatives

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