The SAFE Act 2025-2026
The Save America's Forgotten Equines Act
H.R. 1661 & S. 775
March 6, 2025:
The SAFE Act has now been reintroduced into both the Senate and the House.
The Save America's Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act would expand the Dog and Cat Meat Prohibition Act passed in the 2018 Farm Bill to include the word 'equines', permanently protecting American horses from slaughter
H.R. 1661 in the House of Representatives:
To amend the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 to prohibit the slaughter of equines for human consumption. To read the entire bill at congress.gov, click here. As of May 2, 2025, 116 Representatives are supporting the bill including 94 democrats and 22 Republicans.
Go here to see if your Representative is a cosponsor and if he/she is not a cosponsor, click on this link to find out who your Representative is so you can call ask them to be a cosponsor: www.house.gov/representatives If your Representative is already a cosponsor, give them a quick call and thank them for supporting it!
If your US Representative is NOT a cosponsor, then they NEED to hear from you ASAP! When you call or email your Representative, your script is simple:
“I am calling (or writing) today to ask Representative ___________________ to immediately co sponsor bill H.R. 1661 The SAFE Act of 2025: ‘To amend the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 to prohibit the slaughter of equines for human consumption.’ This issue is very important to me, my family, and my fellow constituents in your district. Thank you, (your name)”
The SAFE Act has now been reintroduced into both the Senate and the House.
The Save America's Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act would expand the Dog and Cat Meat Prohibition Act passed in the 2018 Farm Bill to include the word 'equines', permanently protecting American horses from slaughter
H.R. 1661 in the House of Representatives:
To amend the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 to prohibit the slaughter of equines for human consumption. To read the entire bill at congress.gov, click here. As of May 2, 2025, 116 Representatives are supporting the bill including 94 democrats and 22 Republicans.
Go here to see if your Representative is a cosponsor and if he/she is not a cosponsor, click on this link to find out who your Representative is so you can call ask them to be a cosponsor: www.house.gov/representatives If your Representative is already a cosponsor, give them a quick call and thank them for supporting it!
If your US Representative is NOT a cosponsor, then they NEED to hear from you ASAP! When you call or email your Representative, your script is simple:
“I am calling (or writing) today to ask Representative ___________________ to immediately co sponsor bill H.R. 1661 The SAFE Act of 2025: ‘To amend the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 to prohibit the slaughter of equines for human consumption.’ This issue is very important to me, my family, and my fellow constituents in your district. Thank you, (your name)”
S. 775 in the Senate:
A bill to amend the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 to prohibit the slaughter of equines for human consumption. To read the bill at congress.gov, click here. As of May 2, 2025, there is just still just one cosponsor. To see the cosponsor list, click here.
If your US Senator is NOT a cosponsor, then they NEED to hear from you ASAP!
“I am calling today to ask Senator ___________________ to immediately co sponsor bill S.775 the SAFE Act of 2025: ‘To amend the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 to prohibit the slaughter of equines for human consumption.’ This issue is very important to me, my family, and my fellow constituents in your district. Thank you, (your name)”
If your Senator is up for reelection next year, you can also mention that he/she will not receive your vote unless they support the SAFE Act this year.
I have a packet of relevant information that will be available soon that you can print and mail to your US Representative and both US Senators - but only to those who are not co sponsoring the bill(s). This packet is what convinced my Rep, Jill Tokuda, to sign on to cosponsor the SAFE Act! You simply print the pages, fill in your legislators name and mailing address and sign the letter with your contact information. Then mail it to both the legislators DC office address and their local state office address. You can get this information on your Rep or Senators websites.
A bill to amend the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 to prohibit the slaughter of equines for human consumption. To read the bill at congress.gov, click here. As of May 2, 2025, there is just still just one cosponsor. To see the cosponsor list, click here.
If your US Senator is NOT a cosponsor, then they NEED to hear from you ASAP!
“I am calling today to ask Senator ___________________ to immediately co sponsor bill S.775 the SAFE Act of 2025: ‘To amend the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 to prohibit the slaughter of equines for human consumption.’ This issue is very important to me, my family, and my fellow constituents in your district. Thank you, (your name)”
If your Senator is up for reelection next year, you can also mention that he/she will not receive your vote unless they support the SAFE Act this year.
I have a packet of relevant information that will be available soon that you can print and mail to your US Representative and both US Senators - but only to those who are not co sponsoring the bill(s). This packet is what convinced my Rep, Jill Tokuda, to sign on to cosponsor the SAFE Act! You simply print the pages, fill in your legislators name and mailing address and sign the letter with your contact information. Then mail it to both the legislators DC office address and their local state office address. You can get this information on your Rep or Senators websites.
Tips for making calls on the SAFE Act
• Do NOT mention wild horse roundups when contacting your legislators about the SAFE Act; these are two different legislative issues and if you combine them, it will be too confusing for legislators. It will confuse the issue. Be calm, mature, and professional when making phone calls to legislators. No swearing or threatening remarks should be made. You want to develop a relationship with your legislators offices and staff, not be known as a crazy activist whose calls they will refuse to take or listen to. This bill is meant to protect all American equines including domestic & wild horses, burros, & mules. Talking about wild horse roundups & AIP (Adoption Incentive Program) will only confuse your Rep/Senators. Stay on point!
• One of the reasons some legislators are not supporting the bill is because they wonder what will happen to all the horses currently being shipped to slaughter. Where will the horses go, who will take care of them? Passing the SAFE Act will force backyard breeders (including the Amish) to stop breeding horses and burros for the sole purpose of dropping them at auction pens to make a few dollars. Passing the SAFE Act will also eventually force the racing and other horse related industries to stop overbreeding. You can also mention that the shipping of American equines is a cruel and inhumane process resulting in immense pain and suffering for the horses, burros, and mules. In addition, horse meat is NOT safe for human or pet consumption. Equines are given all sorts of medications including wormers and yearly vaccinations that are not safe for humans or domestic pets to consume.
I would like to thank AWE for their hard work on the SAFE Act and for putting together some of the documents I have in the packets for you to mail to your Rep and Senators. Legislation only gets passed when we make our voices heard - let’s do that now for our beloved American equines, both domestic and wild. It’s way past time for Congress to pass the SAFE Act!
• One of the reasons some legislators are not supporting the bill is because they wonder what will happen to all the horses currently being shipped to slaughter. Where will the horses go, who will take care of them? Passing the SAFE Act will force backyard breeders (including the Amish) to stop breeding horses and burros for the sole purpose of dropping them at auction pens to make a few dollars. Passing the SAFE Act will also eventually force the racing and other horse related industries to stop overbreeding. You can also mention that the shipping of American equines is a cruel and inhumane process resulting in immense pain and suffering for the horses, burros, and mules. In addition, horse meat is NOT safe for human or pet consumption. Equines are given all sorts of medications including wormers and yearly vaccinations that are not safe for humans or domestic pets to consume.
I would like to thank AWE for their hard work on the SAFE Act and for putting together some of the documents I have in the packets for you to mail to your Rep and Senators. Legislation only gets passed when we make our voices heard - let’s do that now for our beloved American equines, both domestic and wild. It’s way past time for Congress to pass the SAFE Act!
More on the SAFE Act
Why are there two bills?
One of the bills has been introduced in the House of Representatives, and the other bill has been introduced in the Senate. This can complicate things. In short, each bill will need to get enough cosponsors and be put to a vote to pass. Then the two bills will need to be combined to make just one version, with every t crossed and every i dotted in the exact same way.
The SAFE Act, in different versions, has been introduced multiple times in Congress and in 20 years has never been passed. Now is the time! But it will take you, the people, to make your voices heard and to ask your US Representative and both of your Senators to cosponsor the bill today. These bills are the federal level, not your state level.
There are 2 bills and three phone calls for you to make:
1) Your US Representative. Your script: "I am calling Rep ________ today to ask him/her to cosponsor H.R. 1661 the SAFE Act and support a ban on horse slaughter in the upcoming Farm Bill. Thank you."
2) Each of your US Senators for your state. Your script: "I am calling today to ask Senator _________ to support the SAFE Act S.775, to protect our American equines from slaughter. Thank you."
Don't know who your US Rep or Senators are? Call 202.224.3121 and the switchboard will help you or go to https://www.congress.gov/members
Once you make the calls, then go to each of their websites and use their Contact Me pages to email them the same message, changing the word 'calling' to 'writing'.
• The H.R. in front of the bill number means this bill is in the House of Representatives, not the Senate. Only call your US Representative about this bill number. The S in front of the bill number means the bill is in the Senate; only call your US Senators on this bill.
• Always use the bill number & title when calling your Rep to support a bill, in this case always say: H.R. 1661 The SAFE ACT
These bills WILL NOT pass without you, the public, making the calls.
The graphics below can be found on the Save Our Wild Horses FB and Instagram pages for you to share.
One of the bills has been introduced in the House of Representatives, and the other bill has been introduced in the Senate. This can complicate things. In short, each bill will need to get enough cosponsors and be put to a vote to pass. Then the two bills will need to be combined to make just one version, with every t crossed and every i dotted in the exact same way.
The SAFE Act, in different versions, has been introduced multiple times in Congress and in 20 years has never been passed. Now is the time! But it will take you, the people, to make your voices heard and to ask your US Representative and both of your Senators to cosponsor the bill today. These bills are the federal level, not your state level.
There are 2 bills and three phone calls for you to make:
1) Your US Representative. Your script: "I am calling Rep ________ today to ask him/her to cosponsor H.R. 1661 the SAFE Act and support a ban on horse slaughter in the upcoming Farm Bill. Thank you."
2) Each of your US Senators for your state. Your script: "I am calling today to ask Senator _________ to support the SAFE Act S.775, to protect our American equines from slaughter. Thank you."
Don't know who your US Rep or Senators are? Call 202.224.3121 and the switchboard will help you or go to https://www.congress.gov/members
Once you make the calls, then go to each of their websites and use their Contact Me pages to email them the same message, changing the word 'calling' to 'writing'.
• The H.R. in front of the bill number means this bill is in the House of Representatives, not the Senate. Only call your US Representative about this bill number. The S in front of the bill number means the bill is in the Senate; only call your US Senators on this bill.
• Always use the bill number & title when calling your Rep to support a bill, in this case always say: H.R. 1661 The SAFE ACT
These bills WILL NOT pass without you, the public, making the calls.
The graphics below can be found on the Save Our Wild Horses FB and Instagram pages for you to share.
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