"Wild free-roaming horses

Are living symbols

Of the historic and pioneer spirit of the American West,

And, therefore, they must be protected.”

A Congressional Declaration - Dec. 15, 1971

A little over one hundred very short years ago

Two million wild horses roamed the American West

Artist George Catlin captured their magnificent spirit

In the above painting – which I think is one of his best

Then with the arrival of the 1900s

Their horrendous slaughter soon began

Thousands of them were butchered for market

By the unstoppable insatiable greed of modern man

At the request of many outraged United States citizens

In 1971 Congress finally passed some legislation to protect them

Most people in the U.S. in the 70s still revered our national treasures

Most people didn’t want the glorious freedom of these mustangs to end

But very unbelievably last year on January 25, 2005

Congress acted to restore their horrendous slaughter and sale

Bowing to cattlemen and overseas horseflesh market demand

On America’s wild horse coffins they’re now pounding the final nail

Today there are less than 50,000 wild horses in the U.S.

And our government plans to reduce them even further

Selling off their flesh to food markets in Europe and Asia

Yet one more American treasure - - to be savagely murdered

Their protection has now ended - now that greed and callousness and big business have become far too much of a factor in our political system.  It appears that the fate of these once revered American animals no longer depends on their long standing survival instincts, or our national love for them, but rather on our extremely hypocritical policy makers in Washington.

This now farcical 1971 Congressional resolution states, "Whereas the horse is a living link to the history of the United States...whereas horses are a vital part of the collective experience of the United States and deserve protection and compassion...the Congress encourages all people of the United States to be mindful of the contribution of these horses to the economy, the history, and the character of these United States."

Our politicians today must apparently mean that we U.S. citizens must be mindful that people in Europe and Asia now love devouring our wild horses – and, as usual, we, as American citizens, are, once again, very passively allowing yet another magnificent American treasure to mournfully pass into extinction.

Last year

100,000 American horses suffered and died

On our own U.S. soil

in foreign-owned slaughterhouses

 so their flesh could be flown to Europe and Asia

for human consumption

We must once again send a clear signal to the world

that American horses are not here to be slaughtered

to serve the foreign market’s dinner table

Or the gluttonous greed of big business

We must save our national treasures

For future generations of Americans

To enjoy

We must once again

Start Placing

Compassion

Above Callousness

And Human Greed

We must once again

Seek to Become

A Nation

To be Proud of

A National Call In Has Been Devised

To Save These National Treasures

The Date for This Call In is Today

Call your U.S. Representative today, September 6th,

 and urge him or her to vote “YES”

on The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act

Tell your Representative:

"I am a constituent, and I am calling to demand that Representative __________ protect American horses from slaughter,

and I vehemently support H.R. 503, the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.

I am very concerned about our American horses,

and I do not want them slaughtered for foreign human consumption."

To find contact information for your representative, click here,

or call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Are Saving Our National Treasures

Worth One Phone Call?

You Decide

They Are Now Running

Against the Gluttonous Modern Wind

And Only We Can Save Them