Willie Nelson: Stop Eating Horses!

America's most beloved country singer and songwriter has joined in the campaign to save another American cherished symbol: horses. Willie Nelson is one of the many voices that protest against the slaughtering of horses and their being sent overseas for consumption. The singer is currently lobbying for support for The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, which will be voted on September 5th.

The singer says that, only a person who has grown up with horses as he did can truly understand the importance and sentimental value attached to these animals. 'If you've ever been around horses a lot, especially wild horses, you know they are a part of American heritage. I don't think it's right that we kill them and eat them', Nelson said in reference to the America's biggest three slaughter houses' activity.

'Horses are icons in American culture. They took us into battle, provided us with transportation, even carried our mail. They shouldn't be sent to slaughter to be dismembered for overseas countries. It's like stepping on the American flag', the president of the Humane Society of the United States said, backing up the country singer.

Many horses, wild or not (including here, those born with deformities, un-trainable or unfit for a proper domestic life), are slaughtered every year. Their carcasses are then dismembered and sent to Europe and Asia for consumers or to American zoos, where they are used for the feeding of wild animals. Only in 2005, reports show that an approximate number of 80,000 equine animals have found their death in US slaughter houses.

But representatives for the three main slaughter houses, all of them situated in Texas, say that there are more than 32,000 wild horses roaming free on public property, about 4,000 more than the land can support. And besides, they add, it's more humane to kill them in sanitary conditions than to leave them to die of starvation or of bad treatment from their owners.

Nelson is not convinced by their argument and stands by his words that, quote, 'It's time for the cowboys to stand up for the horses'. A rally will take place in Washington on the day that the House is to pass the bill and the singer urges the participation of all those concerned in the matter. But, unfortunately, he will not be able to be present at the rally because of his touring schedule, but he will send there his daughter as a sign of support for the cause.