Assembly Bill 128: Protecting California's Horses

Assembly Bill 128was introduced by Assemblymember Todd Gloria to strengthen enforcement of California’s laws against the slaughter of wild and domestic horses. This bill was prompted by the U.S. Forest Service's plan to sell wild horses from the Devil's Garden Territory in the Modoc National Forest without limitations on slaughter. Despite a 20-year-old law making the sale, import, and export of horses for human consumption a felony, California horses remain at risk.

Yesterday, AB 128 passed its first hurdle by clearing the Assembly Water Parks and Wildlife Committee with a 10-1 vote (with 3 abstentions). AWHC's Executive DirectorSuzanne Royand Megan Gaynes, President ofAuction Horses Rescue, joined bill authorAssemblyman Todd Gloriain testifying in support of the bill.

AWHC is grateful to Asm. Gloria for his leadership in protecting California's horses and to AssemblymembersWaldron,Bloom,Boerner Horvath,Cervantes,Kalra,Levine, and SenatorsChang,Portantino, andHertzbergfor co-authoring the bill. The bill will next be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee later this month.

Background

Californians overwhelmingly oppose horse slaughter, with 81 percent disapproving of the practice. In 1998, voters passed Proposition 6, creating section 598c under the Penal Code, which made horse slaughter for human consumption and the sale of horsemeat illegal in California. It also prohibits sending horses out of California for slaughter.

Responding to public opposition,Congresshas prohibited the sale of federally-protected wild horses for slaughter through annual appropriationslegislationfor the Department of Interior. This applies to wild horses and burros protected under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971.

Despite these laws, horses in California, including those removed from federal land, continue to be acquired at auction and end up in the slaughter pipeline. Wild horses in California are now at risk of being sold directly by the federal government without slaughter limitations, a threat highlighted by the Modoc National Forest's 2019 announcement to sell federally-protected wild horses and burros without such limitations.

Twenty-three members of the California State Legislature, along with U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and Attorney General Xavier Becerra, have urged the federal government to protect the wild horses rounded up in Modoc National Forest.

Recognizing the importance of horses to California's heritage and the widespread opposition to horse slaughter, AWHC supports AB 128's intent to strengthen protections for California’s horses and align state laws accordingly.

Documents

• Video of Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee Hearing(April 9, 2019)
• Current Bill
• AWHC Endorsement Letter
• San Diego Humane Society & San Francisco SPCA Letter of Support
• Auction Horse Rescue Letter of Support