Urge Your Legislators to Support Horse Safety, Ban Use of Double-Deck Trailers for Hauling Horses

Animal Welfare Institutute

Date: 

Monday, April 28, 2014

Dear Humanitarian,

The Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2013 (H.R. 4440/S. 1459), a bipartisan bill sponsored in the House by Reps. Steve Cohen (D-TN) and Ed Whitfield (R-KY) and in the Senate by Sens. Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ), amends Title 49, United States Code, to prohibit the transportation of horses in interstate commerce in a motor vehicle containing two or more levels stacked on top of one another (commonly known as "double-deck trailers.")

Hauling horses in double-deck trailers is dangerous and inhumane. These trailers do not provide sufficient headroom for horses to stand upright. As a result, they often endure long journeys in cramped positions and suffer serious injuries. There have also been several horrific traffic accidents involving these trailers, resulting in severe injuries and brutal deaths of many horses.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, "double-deck trailers do not provide adequate headroom for equines, with the possible exception of foals and yearlings. We do not believe that trailers that have two or more permanent levels that are not collapsible can be adequately altered to accommodate adult equines, especially tall equines."

Contact Your Legislators

What You Can Do:
Please ask your representative and both senators to cosponsor H.R. 4440 and S. 1459 to prevent the use of double-deck trailers, with two or more levels stacked on top of one another, for hauling horses in the United States.

You can send your representative and senators an email through theCompassion Index by clicking here. Once you are on the Compassion Index page, you will find suggested talking points to include in your email.

Please be sure to share our “Dear Humanitarian” eAlert with family, friends and co-workers, and encourage them to send a message also. As always, thank you very much for your help!

Sincerely,

Chris Heyde
Deputy Director
Government and Legal Affairs