"The only thing that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

Edmund Burke

It is a lesson of history that the forces of evil, especially greed and avarice, will never rest and so we must be ever vigilant and firm in our true convictions. They are ramping up to start slaughtering our horses again.

Horse slaughtering bill passes House committee

By State Capitol Bureau
GateHouse News Service
Posted Feb 24, 2009 @ 04:25 PM

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A measure to repeal the two-year-old ban on horse slaughtering for human consumption in Illinois is gaining some momentum in the state legislature.

The House Agriculture and Conservation Committee voted 11-2 Tuesday for House Bill 583, pushed by Republican Rep. Jim Sacia of Pecatonica, to lift the ban. The measure now moves to the full House.

Sacia's veterinarian, Dr. Tim Strathman, testified before the committee in favor of repealing the ban. To appease animal rights groups, Strathman proposed adding a tax on horses at slaughter plants to Sacia's measure. He said a $25 fee on horses payable to the state could then be turned over to horse organizations to fund non-slaughter alternatives.

Former Rep. Bob Molaro, D-Chicago, testified against repealing the ban that he had pushed for successfully two years ago. He said Strathman's tax proposal does not address his concern that slaughtering horses is always inhumane.

"I just don't understand how we can tell these pets who have served and worked for us, 'We're going to slaughter you so Europeans can eat you,'" Molaro said.

Supporters of the slaughter ban consider the vote a setback, but remain optimistic.

State Capitol Bureau