ACTION ALERT

March 15, 2007 - IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED ON HB 2328 – THE ANIMAL CRUELTY BILL - This Bill changes the laws under which Habitat for Horses operates in accomplishing legal seizures. Your immediate attention and action is necessary to continue helping the horses which we bring into this organization. It is of utmost importance that every person that can attend the meeting on Tuesday be in the committee room at 2 pm.

Great news!  HB 2328 (the Animal Cruelty Bill) has been set for hearing before the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee at 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 20, 2007 in Austin. You can do two things to help pass this bill out of Committee.

1. Immediately write, fax or email each member of the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee and ask them to SUPPORT HB 2328.  DO NOT CALL – we have been asked not to call and we must honor that request!  When you write, also ask that the introduced version of the bill be changed to remove horses from the definition of “livestock” so that horses can get the added protection the bill gives to nonlivestock animals like dogs and cats.

Horses are not “food animals” and should not be placed in the same category as livestock animals raised for human consumption.  Horses deserve the strongest protection possible since the majority of horses are not used in agriculture, but are instead used for activities such as pleasure riding, horse shows, cutting horses, race horses, hunter-jumpers, pets, police patrol, therapeutic riding, carriage rides, etc.  These activities expose horses to the general public and expose them to the same senseless and egregious animal cruelty inflicted on dogs and cats. 

2. If at all possible, attend the hearing in Austin. If you attend, the only thing you will be asked to do is fill out a card stating that you support HB 2328 and that you do not wish to testify. The sponsor of our bill does not want a lot of testimony at the hearing, but would appreciate people attending and signing cards in support.  You can call the Committee Clerk (Gina Chung, Tel:  (512) 463-0768) for the hearing room number.

 Some talking points you can use in your correspondence to the Committee Members are as follows:

1. Animal cruelty is on the rise in Texas and research has confirmed a correlation between violence against animals and violence toward humans.  The FBI believes that animal abuse is prominently displayed in the histories of people who are habitually violent.
2. Texas prosecutors are frustrated by their inability to prosecute and convict animal abusers because of “loopholes” created by vague and inconsistent wording in the current Animal Cruelty Statute.  The following are a few reported examples of violent acts of animal cruelty which went unpunished because of  these “loopholes”: skinning and decapitating a feral cat; killing a puppy with a power lawn mower; tying a dog to a tree and hammering it to death with a claw hammer; bludgeoning 22 emus with an aluminum baseball bat; burning a rabbit alive; mutilating a live kitten; stabbing a horse to death;  tying a horse behind a pickup and dragging it at over 30 mph until  the horse’s hooves came off  and the animal collapsed and died; and cutting a puppy’s ears off with a picket knife. 
3. HB 2328 will close these “loopholes” and bring Texas’ animal cruelty laws in line with those in other states’ and will facilitate the prosecution of animal abusers in Texas.
4. HB 2328 does not in any way affect persons engaged in scientific research, hunting, fishing, trapping, wildlife control, farming, ranching, or animal husbandry.  All of these groups are exempt from the animal cruelty statute.

Contact Information for Members of the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence

Aaron Peña (D), Chair, Dist. 40 - Hidalgo (part)
Capitol Fax: (512) 463-0043
Email:  aaron.pena@house.state.tx.us

Allen Vaught (D), Vice Chair, Dist. 107 - Dallas (part)
Capitol Fax: (512) 463-5896
Email:  allen.vaught@house.state.tx.us

Juan M. Escobar (D), Dist. 43 - Brooks, Cameron (part), Jim Hogg, Kenedy, Kleberg, Willacy
Capitol Fax: (512) 463-1765
Email:  juan.escobar@house.state.tx.us

Terri Hodge (D), Dist. 100 - Dallas (part)
Capitol Fax: (512) 463-8147
Email:  terri.hodge@house.state.tx.us

Barbara Mallory Caraway (D), Dist. 110 - Dallas (part)
Capital Fax:  (512) 463-0476
Email:  barbara.mallorycaraway@house.state.tx.us

Paul C. Moreno (D), Dist. 77 - El Paso (part)
Capitol Fax: (512) 463-1968
Email:  paul.moreno@house.state.tx.us

Paula Pierson (D), Dist. 93 - Tarrant (part)
Capitol Fax: (512) 474-2147
Email:  paula.pierson@house.state.tx.us

Debbie Riddle (R), Dist. 150 - Harris (part)
Capitol Fax: (512) 463-1908
Email:  debbie.riddle@house.state.tx.us

The Mailing Address for all Representatives in Austin is:

P.O. Box 2910
Austin, Texas 78768-2910