With the support of advocates like you, the ASPCA has been fighting tirelessly to pass the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act, a federal bill to permanently ban the slaughter (for meat) of American horses at home and abroad. We reached a critical milestone today: the SAFE Act now has 218 cosponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives! This means that this legislation now enjoys the support of over half of the House’s 435 members.

Though our primary goal is to see this legislation enacted, majority cosponsorship is an important achievement which shows that we are on the way to eradicating this barbaric practice in our nation once and for all. Under democratic principles, when half the body agrees to support a reform, that legislation should be given a vote. We are now more than justified in seeking a hearing and vote for this legislation and pushing for its swift enactment.

Our leadership on this bill, a bipartisan team of legislators from all over the country—Vern Buchanan (R-FL), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Ed Royce (R-CA), Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)—has been instrumental in advancing both the issue and the bill. John Rutherford (R-FL) and Conor Lamb (D-PA) were lucky numbers 217 and 218, and we would like to celebrate their part in pushing us over the line. 

Every year that goes by without the SAFE Act passing means that another 70,000-100,000 horses are sent abroad for slaughter for human consumption. Though the practice is opposed by the vast majority of Americans, the issue remains unresolved at the federal level. Please take a moment to thank your legislators if they were a part of this achievement, and urge those who are not yet cosponsors to join in the fight.