Willie Nelson Takes On Tennessee Horse Slaughter

What do Missouri and Tennessee have in common? They both have a state horse (only ten states do), and they both want to make it legal to slaughter horses for human consumption. (Read about Missouri's horse slaughtering bill here.)

On Wednesday, a Tennessee house subcommittee passed a bill to allow for horse slaughterhouses and processing plants. The bill is sponsored by Republican Frank Niceley. It passed 7-6 and will advance in the state legislature.

But horses do have a friend in Tennessee. Willie Nelson, the legendary country singer, is a vocal opponent to horse slaughter.

Willie Nelson called the bill a "step backward." Nelson's daughter and granddaughter both spoke on his behalf at Wednesday's committee meeting.

Nelson wrote an opinion piece to The Tennessean newspaper, where he detailed how horses are "often conscious while being hoisted, shackled, cut and bled out," and how some are even "conscious while their hooves are cut off."

Willie Nelson's letter also proposes ways to deal with at-risk horses. Nelson supports affordable euthanasia and neutering programs, feed relief programs, and equine sanctuaries.

Nelson has been fighting horse slaughter for years. He supported efforts to shut down horse slaughter houses in 2006. He is now promoting the federal Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, which would ban horse slaughter in the U.S. It would also stop the current practice of exporting horses out of the country for slaughter in Mexico and Canada.

If the the federal act passes, then both Missouri and Tennessee can give up any hope of slaughtering horses. But until then, the Tennessee Walking Horse should start walking far, far away from Tennessee.

Photo Credit: Makelessnoise