T. Boone Pickens Takes on Horse Slaughter Issue with Congress
Equestrian News Release

DALLAS, July 24 /PRNewswire/Starting this week, Congress will consider legislation making the slaughter of horses illegal in the U.S. A life-long animal lover, T. Boone Pickens, founder of BP Capital and Mesa Petroleum, and his wife, Madeleine Pickens, are launching an attack to make these horse-killing factories illegal.

On Tuesday, July 25, 2006 at 2:00 pm Pickens, a legendary oilman and philanthropist, will testify before a U.S. House of Representatives Energy & Commerce sub-committee to support the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503).

Horse slaughter is America's dirty little secret. Slaughterhouses in Texas and Illinois (there are only three in the U.S.) are killing nearly 100,000 horses per year to produce horsemeat sold as a delicacy in France, Belgium and Japan. Even though independent surveys show that an overwhelming majority of Americans support a ban on horse slaughter, lobbyists and special interests have used their influence to secure key votes in Congress and protect these pitiless killing factories that serve foreign interests.

The sale of horsemeat is banned in most U.S. states, but these slaughterhouses receive USDA oversight and millions in taxpayer dollars -- all for horsemeat that is sold in high-dollar markets and restaurants in foreign countries and none in the U.S.

"The brutal slaughter of horses for consumption by wealthy diners in Europe and Japan cuts against our moral and cultural fiber -- it's just plain un-American," said T. Boone Pickens.

About T. Boone Pickens

One of Forbes 400 Richest Americans, T. Boone has been a world leader in the oil and gas industry for 50 years. He now runs BP Capital LLC, a Dallas- based energy trading partnership. Life-long animal lovers, T. Boone and Madeleine Pickens earned national attention by funding the airlift rescue of stranded cats and dogs after Hurricane Katrina.

American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503 / S.1915)

A bill to end the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the United States and the export of live horses for the same purpose has been reintroduced in the House of Representatives by Congressional Horse Caucus Co- Chair John Sweeney (R-NY), Representative John Spratt (D-SC) and Representative Ed Whitfield (R-KY). Senator and veterinarian John Ensign (R-NV) and Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) have reintroduced an identical measure in the Senate.