From resident Curt Rogers, July 18, 2017: As an animal advocate, I am shocked and appalled that the U.S. House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee voted 27-25 recently to allow horse slaughterhouses to operate on U.S. soil. I am grateful U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark stood up to protect horses against the greed of business interests, but her vote was not enough.

Horse slaughter is a cruel and repulsive industry. Eighty percent of Americans oppose it. Kill buyers purchase horses at auction, load them onto overcrowded trucks, stun them (pray the first stun works or the cruelty is increased exponentially), hoist them up by a leg, and pull them apart piece by piece.

Americans have horses as pets, we compete with them in sports and they work the land with us. They are considered members of the family for many horse owners. Allowing our horses to be slaughtered for meat is unimaginable. The slaughter process is full of pain and suffering and not something the country should condone.

Since the 2016 elections, Washington has steady increased its cruelty toward animals, usually so someone can make a buck. Thankfully the people of Massachusetts have Clark to fight for the humane treatment of animals.