BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                                     SENATE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
                         Bill Lockyer, Chairman
                        1993-94 Regular Session




AB 477 (Horcher)
As amended June 3
Hearing date:  July 13, 1993
Penal Code
ART:GML




                      TRANSPORT OF DISABLED HORSES


                                 HISTORY


Source:  Horse Care

Prior Legislation:  None

Support:  Horse Care; California State Horsemen's Association; 
                California Federation for Animal Legislation; 
                Humane Farming Association; Contra Costa Humane 
                Society; Fund for Animals; PAW PAC; Horse Power; 
                Last Chance for Animals; Humane Society of the 
                United States; Humane Farming Action Fund; several 
                individuals

Opposition:  No known

Assembly Floor vote:  Ayes 69 - Noes 3


                               KEY ISSUE

SHOULD IT BE A MISDEMEANOR FOR A PERSON TO CAUSE A DISABLED HORSE, 
šOR SIMILAR ANIMAL TO BE TRANSPORTED FOR PURPOSES OF COMMERCIAL 
šSLAUGHTER?

                                 PURPOSE

Existing law provides that it is a misdemeanor to cause any animal 
što be transported in a vehicle in an unnecessarily cruel or 
šinhumane manner. 

This bill would make it a misdemeanor to cause a disabled, as 







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AB 477 (Horcher)
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defined, horse, mule, pony, or burro to be sold, loaded or 
štransported out of state for purposes of commercial slaughter. 


The purpose of this bill is to clarify that it is unlawful to 
štransport a disabled horse out of state for purposes of slaughter.


                                 COMMENT

1.  Stated need for legislation

    According to the sponsors, though existing law prohibits 
    animals from being transported in cruel or inhumane ways, some 
    disabled horses continue to be transported to slaughterhouses. 
    Supporters claim that many disabled horses are subjected to 
    pain and suffering or even die in transit.

    In a recent court case involving injured horses being sent out 
    of the state to slaughter, a judge found that portions of 
    California's 100-year old animal protection statutes were 
    unconstitutionally vague because they failed to give adequate 
    notice as to what conduct was proscribed.  This bill is an 
    attempt to clarify the more general animal cruelty statute. 

2.  Background

    500,000 horses are slaughtered each year in the U.S.  Most of 
    these horses are first transported to the Midwest, Texas, or 
    Canada where they are slaughtered and processed for human 
    consumption in Europe and Asia.  Both healthy and sick or 
    disabled animals are currently auctioned for slaughter. 

3.  Court case

    The court case cited by the author as one of the reasons for 
    this bill, resulted in an unpublished decision by a Fresno 
    Superior Court.  It would have no precedental value as far as 
    influencing other courts in their interpretations of animal 
    cruelty laws.  The court found that the language in P.C. 
    Sec.597a is impermissibly vague and fails to give adequate 
    notice as to what conduct is proscribed.  The use of the phrase 
    "unnecessary torture, suffering, or cruelty of any kind," 
    seemed to imply the possibility of "necessary torture, 
    suffering, or cruelty". 

    WOULD NOT THIS PROBLEM BE REMEDIED BY SIMPLY DELETING THE WORD 
    "UNNECESSARY" FROM THE ORIGINAL STATUTE?

4.  Definition of disabled

    For purposes of this bill, "disabled animal" includes but is 
    not limited to, any animal that has broken limbs, is unable to 



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    stand and balance itself without assistance, cannot walk, or is 
    severely injured.


5.  Self-regulation

    The California State Horsemen's Association claims that the 
    bill would allow the horse industry to self-regulate since it 
    would give shippers of horses reason to refuse to transport 
    disabled animals out of state.  Instead, disabled horses could 
    be euthanized or sold for pet food in California. 

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