RE: IL Horse Transport Bill Update

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Equine Protection Network www.EquineProtectio nNetwork. comFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMarch 24, 2008RE: IL Horse Transport Bill UpdateThe hostile amendment, (02) accepted by the bill's sponsor, Rep. JoAnn Osmond that would have legalized the use of double deck trailers for horses in IL, weakened other state laws and been a template for Farm Bureau amendments in other states, has been tabled according to Rep Osmond. We are pleased that Rep Osmond has agreed to table the amendment and look forward to again supporting IL HB 4162 without the hostile amendment.Legislation can take a lot of twists and turns during the legislative process and equine advocates must always remain vigilant for hostile amendments that will negate the intent of the legislation. It is often the outside hard scrutiny, along with the voices of the People that keeps a piece of legislation on the straight and narrow that otherwise

might seek the path of least resistance. An immediate response to a hostile amendment resulted in the just as immediate tabling of the hostile amendment and we look forward to moving ahead with the IL Horse Transport Bill as currently written. IL HB 4162 modeled after the PA Horse Transport Law, is a good clean bill as currently written. The successful enforcement and prosecution of the PA Horse Transport Law indicates the language works. Prosecutors and law enforcement officers alike praise the PA Horse Transport Law for its simplicity and specificity which allows any law enforcement officer to make an arrest and prosecute; no expert witnesses or special training is required for law enforcement officers.Gone are the days when animal welfare organizations introduced an animal friendly bill and before the legislative process was done so many hostile amendments had been accepted that the bill was now an

industry bill that legitimized, legalized, and regulated the very practice that the original bill was introduced to prohibit. Supporters were never informed of the Facts and blindly continued to support a bill that was unrecognizable to the original bill.PA HORSE TRANSPORT LAWThe EPN achieved the goal of a transport law that prohibited the transport of any horse, no matter what its final destination in Pennsylvania because the EPN stood our ground in PA during the campaign to pass the PA Horse Transport Law of 2001. Law enforcement officers and prosecutors, the very people charged with enforcement of the PA Horse Transport Law have praised the EPN for passage of the PA Horse Transport Law, the strongest law of its kind in the United States, and one of PA's strongest criminal laws.The EPN did not bow to the pressure from animal welfare organizations urging us to accept a bill that compromised the goal

of the legislation, which was to ban double deck trailers to transport any horse, no matter what their final destination. Instead, individuals and groups who would have accepted a compromised bill denounced the EPN for our refusal to compromise and accept language that would have regulated their use and legitimized horse slaughter.If it were not for EPN alerting the public to the facts, the People would have remained silent, the lobbyists would have achieved the goal of the exemption of their clients, and the animal welfare groups, and the politicians would have had their publicity victory and, a basis for more fundraising.There would have been no press releases announcing the arrest of Three Hills Rodeo or Sugarcreek Livestock, only press releases congratulating everyone on the passage of the PA Horse Transport Law and calling for more donations so they could address the still remaining problems. The old,

"come back and fix it later" rhetoric that animal welfare groups are famous for.The EPN wants our supporters and allies to read the Facts for themselves and understand an issue so that they can articulate the issue to their legislators, the media, law enforcement, and the public. The EPN strives to provide our supporters with the Facts of the situation by posting the federal regulations, state statutes, proposed bills, and legislative proceedings such as committee hearings or house debates verbatim, and by providing the links to government websites.The Facts of an issue can stand on their own merit and do not need a spin put on them by those who stand to benefit. Those who are afraid of the Facts and the Truth attempt to silence those who provide the Facts. The first line of defense is to keep the Facts out by silencing the speaker. If that does not work the next step is to discredit the speaker of the

Facts by referring to them as, "well intentioned, but uninformed or emotional" or "That is not the way it works in this state". If that fails the Facts are referred to as "false or misleading".The PA Horse Transport Law of 2001 is pristine. It can, and has been successfully enforced by law enforcement officers without special training and/or expert witnesses. It applies to all horses no matter what its final destination. The goal is the same for Illinois.We urge our supporters to never blindly follow without reading the Facts for yourself. The Internet provides advocates the means to provide the People with the Facts. It is our job as advocates to keep the People updated on the behind the scenes maneuverings of lobbyists and the political climate changes.Advocates should not and must not be silenced. Silence is the friend of dictators and corruption, and the foe of the truth and the will of The People.

The People deserve the Facts, and the horses deserve better. No matter what the situation... be informed.Thank you for your continued support for our efforts to pass an IL Horse Transport Law that will ban double deck trailers for all horses, no matter what their final destination.The EPN will continue to keep you posted on the status of the IL Horse Transport Bill with legislative alerts.Christine BerryEPN### http://pets.Fortheanimals7/join