Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation recently submitted comments to USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service opposing their efforts to ban action devices and pads on horses and shift regulatory authority of the Horse Protection Act to APHIS. APHIS requested comments on its proposed rule amending the Horse Protection Act.
The Horse Protection Act was enacted in 1970 to protect horses from soring and prohibit the movement, showing, exhibition, or sale of sore horses. In 1976, the Act was amended to establish inspection processes at shows, exhibitions, sales and auctions. For years, horse industry organizations have been tasked with self-regulating shows and sales within their industry and appointing qualified individuals to perform inspections.
“We believe humanity has a moral obligation to avoid cruelty in dealing with all animals and oppose using soring to train horses,” writes Tennessee Farm Bureau President Eric Mayberry. “The proposed changes to the rule will unfairly affect most horse owners who treat their animals with care and adversely affect the communities that take pride in the equine competition and performance industries.”
Read the full comments here.
