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• Individuals will be fined or imprisoned (or both) for:
  
  
  1. Possessing, shipping, transporting, purchasing, selling, delivering, or receiving, in or affecting interstate commerce or foreign commerce, any horse with the intent that it is to be slaughtered for human consumption; or
     
     
  2. Possessing, shipping, transporting, purchasing, selling, delivering, or receiving, in or affecting interstate commerce or foreign commerce, any horse flesh or carcass or part of a carcass, with the intent that it is to be used for human consumption.

• Disposition of Affected Horses: While H.R. 6598 provides for the humane disposition of horses that are seized under this act, it does not address the status of the thousands of other unwanted horses affected by this bill. Over 100,000 unwanted horses per year will need to find an alternative home, or will need to be euthanized and have their carcasses properly disposed of.
  
  
• Costs Related to the Care of the Horses: Under the proposed Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, care must potentially be provided for an additional 100,000+ horses annually. The American Association of Equine Practitioners estimates that basic subsistence care would cost approximately $1825/horse/year resulting in needed funds of more than $182,500,000 million/year during the first year of enactment. Whereas there may initially be 100,000+ horses to care for, during subsequent years that number could be expected to increase by up to 100,000+ annually, with an exponential increase in cost. This bill does not address financial support required for unwanted horses that are voluntarily given up by their owners to horse rescue facilities. Inadequate funding has a huge potential to create opportunities for inadequate care.
  
  This bill does not provide additional funding to the Department of Justice to properly enforce this legislation or provide care to the horses that are seized under this act.
  
  
• Animal Welfare: H.R. 6598 does not address the welfare of horses that will not be slaughtered. Many of these unwanted horses will be donated to horse rescue and retirement facilities, which are not regulated by any governmental body. While many of these facilities are well run, regulations must be put in place to establish standards of care to ensure the humane treatment of these unwanted horses.
  
  
• Current USDA Authority: H.R. 6598 could undermine current USDA efforts to enforce humane transportation standards for horses being transported for the purpose of slaughter. USDA is currently able to assess civil penalties of up to $5,000 per horse (per violation) of the USDA Slaughter Horse Transport Program. During the recent Hearing on H.R. 6598, Mr. Pacelle, CEO of HSUS, suggested that the predominate animal welfare issue is NOT the method of euthanasia but rather the transportation of horses over long distances that is so egregious. This being said, it is imperative that the USDA can continue to enforce the current statutes and ensure the HUMANE transportation of horses.
  
  
• Environmental Concerns Related to Horse Carcass Disposal: The primary options to dispose of horse carcasses, other than processing at slaughter facilities, include burial, rendering, cremation, placement in a landfill, and composting. However, disposal regulations and methods are state and county issues, and they vary from locale to locale. Not all options are available to all horse owners in all areas, and the inevitable disposal of an additional 100,000+ horse carcasses per year could create environmental problems. The cost of disposal for a horse carcass also varies widely by state, from $10 to $1500, depending on the method of disposal. There is also concern about soil contamination from euthanasia drugs in buried carcasses.