Lawmakers in Washington, D.C., are expected to vote on a new transportation bill, which may prohibit the transporting of horses in double-decker trailer rigs.
The proposed legislation includes the double-decker trailer ban as part of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Enhancement Act of 2011, now awaiting Congressional confirmation. The law, approved February 3 by the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is included in the American Energy Infrastructure Jobs Act, H.R. 7.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), Humane Society of the United States, National Black Farmers Association, and other animal welfare groups celebrate the new equine safety development.
This concern is not new. "We do not believe that equines can be safely and humanely transported on a conveyance that has an animal cargo space divided into two or more stacked levels," reads a 2001 statement in the Federal Register.
A 2007 disaster inspired the proposed double-decker trailer ban.
This issue was initially raised by Senator Mark Kirk [R-IL) after a tragic trailer turnover nearly five years ago on a Northern Illinois highway killed more than a dozen young Belgian horses. The double-decker trailer was carrying 59 equines, mostly junior draft horses, and was presumably bound for a slaughterhouse north of the American border. Apparently, the truck driver ran a red light and struck a pickup truck, flipping his own rig.
The driver and owner of the horses faced criminal charges.
Horse trainers, equine veterinarians and barn managers near the accident site sprang into action, heroically saving as many creatures as possible from the mangled trailer. Many of the surviving horses were adopted by area horsemen.
Personally, I have friends who now ride and show these beautiful Belgians and even a hearty Haflinger in local competitions.
Here’s the whole story on the 2007 horse trailer accident, which occurred in Wadsworth, Illinois: Illinois Highway Accident Kills Horses Likely Bound for Slaughter.
Bipartisan legislative supporters joining Kirk in the quest to ban double-decker trailer transporting of horses include Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Robert Casey (D-PA), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), and Robert Menéndez (D-NJ). Congressional supporters include Andy Harris (R-MD) and Nick Rahall (D-WV).
The U.S. Department of Agriculture already forbids transport of horses to slaughter in double-decker trailers, so the proposed legislation would protect horses traveling for other purposes.
Some horsemen oppose the new bill.
A number of rodeo interests have spoken out against the potential banning of double-decker trailers for equine transport, as such vehicles are often used by these organizations to take horses and other livestock to rodeo events.
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