It’s been a very busy day in the Texas Legislature, however, the results are coming in.

First some excellent news: Early today the U.S. Supreme Court denied the Texas slaughtering plants’ petition for writ of certiorari….which means the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding the Texas law banning horse slaughter is final. Dallas Crown and Beltex are now permanently shut down….unless they succeed in getting horse slaughter legalized in the legislature.

SB911 on which Rep. Hegar of Katy attempted to attach an amendment authorizing horse slaughter in Texas failed to pass. The Associated bill, HB 2543, is stuck in Committee and will not be heard, essentially killing the pro-slaughter efforts for this session.

The new Texas Animal Cruelty Bill passed the Senate and will become law with the signature of the Governor, with the only effect being the loss of “shelter” as one of the terms of abuse and adding a definition to the word “torture,” which helps us in court. This is the Criminal section of the law and does not affect the civil laws.
HB 3930, thanks to your efforts, was killed in Committee today. Susan Moore was prepared to testify on behalf of Habitat for Horses, but the Committee Hearing was called off, no doubt due to the overwhelming number of calls. She remains in Austin in preparation for another attempt to add this in as an amendment

All good news! However, and there always seems to be something – the bills are flying all over the place as this session of the Legislature comes to an end. There is always the likelihood that some Senator or Representative will attach an amendment to a bill on its way to the Floor. Just as in Hegar’s sneaky amendment, worded so no one could understand its meaning, an amendment could be attached that completely changes these laws or any law. Lest we forget, this is how Senator Conrad Burns (R-Ohio) got away with the killing of wild horses by throwing out the Wild Horse Annie law.

The Texas Humane Legislative Network is very active right now, watching not only in person, but by computer link, every bill that goes to the floor. Habitat for Horses is on standby, ready to attend any Committee Meeting necessary and I’m proud to say that many of our members stand ready to respond with phone calls and faxes.
To every one of you who made calls and faxed, thank you. You made a difference today in the lives of a lot of horses and the future of this organization. One more week to go…
Jerry Finch
http://www.habitatforhorses.org/