Senate panel approves horse welfare bill
By John Cheves – jcheves@herald-leader.com
FRANKFORT — The Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday approved a bill to establish the Kentucky Equine Health and Welfare Council, which would gather data on the well-being of Kentucky’s signature animal and recommend improvements.
First, the committee amended parts of House Bill 398, tweaking the 15-member council’s name and moving it from the Public Protection Cabinet to the Agriculture Department, among other changes.
Rep. Tom McKee, the bill’s sponsor, said Kentucky needs to address the fate of neglected, abused and unwanted horses, some of which are turned out at the end of their productive careers. The council’s interest would extend “from Derby winners to the Shetland pony in your backyard,” said McKee, D-Cynthiana.
The bill proceeds to the full Senate.
Filed Under: KY General Assembly
About the Author: John Stamper is the accountability editor for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Monticello, Ky., he has been with the Herald-Leader in a variety of roles since graduating from Western Kentucky University in 2000. Reach him at jstamper@herald-leader.com
“Kentucky needs to address the fate of neglected, abused and unwanted horses,…”
well, if y’all don’t start working on jobs and fiscal responsible spending, we will be eating those horses soon, and you won’t have to worry about their fates.
welfare council on horses….my wife has cancer,lost my health insurance,gonna lose everything i have worked hard for,cant get no help with the staggering amount of bills still yet my taxes will be used to pay for a welfare council for horses? i agree with chingo.we will be eating horses pretty soon.
And how many political buddy will go on the payroll to “collect date” and what are they going to count? When the state is facing all of the fiscal problem we have is this something we can afford to do? The politicians are just looking for another way to tap into our money, and no doubt this will be the new way……..
And how many political buddy will go on the payroll to “collect data” and what are they going to count? When the state is facing all of the fiscal problem we have is this something we can afford to do? The politicians are just looking for another way to tap into our money, and no doubt this will be the new way……..
I’m sorry for people who are themselves, or who have loved ones who are very ill, but this is not the subject, and yes, more needs to be done to protect abused and neglected horses. Idiots harm animals, whether it be by outright abuse, or by not caring for them. Animals are defensless, just as children are. Ugly people turn a blind eye.
We already have laws against mistreatment of animals. Need no others, but what we need to do is to repeal the federal law of several years ago that closed all the horse-slaughter houses in USA (last one closed in 2008)so that unwanted or mistreated animals can be humanely slaughtered and their meat put to good use. We are starting to see herds of unwanted horses tearing up the mountain sides in eastern Kentucky, and left to starve on our public lands when owners can no longer take care of them.