Agricultural News
HSU Urges Governor Fallin to Veto HB 1999- Farm Bureau and Other Ag Groups Urge Her to Sign the Bill
Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:33:59 CDT
The Humane Society of the United States urges Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin to veto H.B. 1999, which would pave the way for Oklahoma to become the first and only state in the country to resume the slaughter of horses for human consumption abroad. The bill would overturn a 50-year ban in Oklahoma and open the door for a horse slaughter plant to open in the state. Results of a recent statewide poll conducted by SoonerPoll reveal a strong majority (66 percent) of Oklahoma likely voters opposes passage of the proposed legislation.
"We urge Governor Fallin to listen to the voice of the vast majority of Oklahomans from all walks of life who are expressing strong opposition to this ill-conceived legislation," said Cynthia Armstrong, Oklahoma state director for The HSUS. "The horse holds a special place in Oklahomans' hearts and history. It is not in keeping with our values to slaughter them for food for a foreign market."
Other results of the SoonerPoll survey, funded by HSUS, demonstrate that an overwhelming majority, 72.3 percent, of likely voters is opposed to having a horse slaughter operation in their community.
Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Mike Spradling is calling into question actions by officials with Sooner Poll, requesting Gov. Fallin to fully understand the results of their recent poll on horse processing legislation. Sooner Poll officials sent a letter to Gov. Fallin, emphasizing some of the results of the poll that showed Oklahoma voters oppose the legislation.
"Poll officials should maintain an independent, non-biased position on this issue," Spradling said.
Specifically, Spradling is concerned about the small sampling of actual horse owners participating in the poll. The poll officials confirmed that only 16 percent of the respondents were horse owners.
"We believe the poll's questions were written with the goal of extracting specific answers to match their intended results," Spradling said. "Clearly this HSUS-funded poll was biased against the horse legislation."
HB 1999 overwhelmingly passed the Oklahoma House and Senate and now sits on the Governor's desk- awaiting a decision by Governor Fallin to sign or veto the measure- that decision must come by early next week.. Supporters contend that if a horse processing plant was opened in Oklahoma- it could provide a more humane way to handle horses that are otherwise suffering in the state by being abandoned in the country- an increasingly more frequent scenario since the last processing plant was closed in the US several years ago.
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