Bill Details
View committees (1)
View cosponsors (9)
- Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-New Mexico]
- Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-Maine]
- Sen. Kennedy, John [R-Louisiana]
- Sen. Fetterman, John [D-Pennsylvania]
- Sen. Scott, Rick [R-Florida]
- Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-Rhode Island]
- Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-Oregon]
- Sen. Budd, Ted [R-North Carolina]
- Sen. McCormick, David [R-Pennsylvania]
AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.
This bill would change current law to clearly ban the slaughter of equines, such as horses, for human consumption. It updates an existing federal law that already protects dogs and cats, and adds equines to that protection. In simple terms, the bill would make it illegal under that law to slaughter horses and other equines for people to eat.
- It amends a section of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, which currently covers dogs and cats.
- The bill changes the wording so that equines are included wherever the law now says “dog or cat.”
- It gives the measure a short name: the “Save America’s Forgotten Equines Act of 2025,” or “SAFE Act of 2025.”
Official Summaries
Save America's Forgotten Equines Act of 2025 or the SAFE Act of 2025
This bill permanently prohibits the slaughter of equines (e.g., horses and mules) for human consumption. (Current law prohibits the slaughter of dogs and cats for human consumption. This bill extends the prohibition to equines.)
Specifically, this bill prohibits a person from knowingly (1) slaughtering an equine for human consumption; or (2) shipping, transporting, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donating an equine to be slaughtered for human consumption or equine parts for human consumption.
The bill subjects a violator to a fine.
The bill applies to conduct in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. However, it does not apply to an activity carried out by an Indian for a religious ceremony.
As background, in recent years, the appropriations acts have prohibited the Department of Agriculture (USDA) from using federal funds to inspect horses before they are slaughtered for human consumption. Therefore, there are currently no USDA-inspected horse slaughter facilities in the United States.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 775 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 775
To amend the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 to prohibit the
slaughter of equines for human consumption.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 27, 2025
Mr. Graham (for himself and Mr. Lujan) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 to prohibit the
slaughter of equines for human consumption.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Save America's Forgotten Equines Act
of 2025'' or the ``SAFE Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON SLAUGHTER OF EQUINES FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.
Section 12515 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (7 U.S.C.
2160) is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by striking ``dogs and cats''
and inserting ``dogs, cats, and equines''; and
(2) in subsection (a), by striking ``a dog or cat'' each
place it appears and inserting ``a dog, cat, or equine''.
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