Buchanan Leads Multi-Front Effort to Advance SAFE Act, End Horse Slaughter

"Protecting America's Horses from Slaughter Is a Commonsense, Bipartisan Priority That Reflects Our Values as a Nation."

Leads Bipartisan Efforts, Meets Advocates to Protect America's Horses

WASHINGTON - Congressman Vern Buchanan, Co-Chair of the Animal Protection Caucus, is continuing his leadership to protect America's horses and end the cruel practice of horse slaughter through a series of recent legislative and advocacy efforts supporting the Save America's Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act (H.R. 1661).

"Protecting America's horses from slaughter is a commonsense, bipartisan priority that reflects our values as a nation,"said Buchanan. "We are building strong momentum in Congress and working alongside advocates across the country to finally end this inhumane practice. I will keep pushing to get the SAFE Act signed into law."

Buchanan recently met with advocates from the Wild Beauty Foundation during the Lost Horses Washington, D.C. Fly-In, which brought together organizations and leaders from across the country to raise awareness and push for an end to the export of American horses for slaughter. Participants included filmmaker Ashley Avis, actress and advocate Danielle Vasinova, 1/ST Racing & Gaming CEO Aidan Butler and student advocate Casey Chafick, who wrote to Congress urging passage of the SAFE Act.

"I'm grateful for groups like the Wild Beauty Foundation who are raising their voices and bringing attention to the urgent need to protect America's horses," said Buchanan. "Their advocacy plays a critical role in building momentum for the SAFE Act."

The SAFE Act would permanently ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the United States and prohibit their export to Canada and Mexico for that purpose. The legislation has garnered overwhelming bipartisan support, with 226 cosponsors in the House. Companion legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Lindsey Graham(R-S.C.) and Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.).

The SAFE Act has received support from the Humane World Action Fund, the ASPCA, the Animal Welfare Institute, the U.S. Harness Racing Alumni Association, the Jockey Club, Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation, Horse Plus Humane Society and the Wild Beauty Foundation.

Furthermore, Buchanan recently helped lead a bipartisan appropriations letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, urging lawmakers to make the current prohibition on taxpayer funding for horse slaughter in the United States permanent.

"Horse slaughter is an inherently cruel practice that 83% of Americans want to see permanently banned," write the lawmakers in the letter. "This overwhelmingly popular and fiscally responsible policy has been enacted for each year since Fiscal Year 2014 and for all but two years since 2005."

The letter, signed by 150 members of Congress, calls for including "hereafter" language to ensure federal funds can never be used to inspect horse slaughter facilities in the United States. Read the full letter here.

Buchanan, who co-chairs the Animal Protection Caucus in Congress, is a leading advocate for protecting endangered species and ending animal cruelty, introducing and co-sponsoring dozens of important animal measures. In 2024, an amended version of Buchanan's Honoring Our Heroes with Dignity Act, which requires the Army to resume horse-drawn funeral services at Arlington National Cemetery, was signed into law as part of the end-of-year defense spending package. He is also a two-time recipient of the Humane Society's "Legislator of the Year" award, winning the award in 2015 and 2020.

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