Rep. DesJarlais Reintroduces Bill to Amend HPA
Friday, March 3, 2017
Representative Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) reintroduced a bill, H.R. 1338, on March 2, 2017, to amend the Horse Protection Act (HPA) that would eliminate the current inconsistent and subjective inspection methods and replace them with objective, science-based inspections. Rep. DesJarlais’s bill mirrors the bill he introduced in the previous Congress, which was originally introduced by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-7).
The new protocols for inspection would be based upon expert veterinarian input and be administered by a single enforcement entity under the HPA. Currently the HPA is enforced by multiple HIOs that all have different rules and enforcement guidelines.
The current bill kept the same original list of co-sponsors, Phil Roe (R-TN-1), Jimmy Duncan(R-TN-2), Chuck Fleishmann (R-TN-3), Diane Black (R-TN-6) and Blackburn from Tennessee. Hal Rogers (R-KY-5) and Andy Barr (R-KY-6). There are two new co-sponsors from Kentucky, James Comer (R-KY-1) and Brett Guthrie (R-KY-2). Comer replaced Rep. Ed Whitfield in the new Congress.
The inconsistency in inspections, conducted by both the USDA Veterinary Medical Officers and industry Designated Qualified Persons, has severely damaged the Tennessee Walking Horse industry. At the 2016 Celebration, USDA Veterinary Medical Officers disagreed 22% of the time on whether a horse was compliant or not and 52% of the time the VMOs disagreed on their inspection finding.
In a 2015 opinion against the rulemaking efforts of the USDA, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals pointed out this fact calling inspections, “more art than science,” and acknowledging that current inspection protocols lead to many false positives.
The new bill would enact protocols that are “conducted using only inspection methods based on science-based protocols (including swabbing or blood testing protocols) that –
(A) have been the subject of testing and are capable of producing scientifically reliable, reproducible results;
(B) have been subjected to peer review; and
(C) have received acceptance in the veterinary or other applicable scientific community.”
The HIO formed by the legislation will issue policies requiring any person licensed with the HIO or an immediate family member of such person to be free from conflicts of interest or any association with the industry. The HIO would be governed initially by a board consisting of the following:
(A) Two individuals each appointed by the Commissioners of Agriculture of Tennessee and Kentucky
(B) Two individuals representing the industry by the above four persons in consultation with the Walking Horse Trainers’ Association
(C) Not more than three individuals shall be appointed by the six individuals above
More Stories |
-
Read More
-
For many years the Georgia Walking Horse Exhibitors Association has sponsored and operated the Southern Championship Charity Horse Show...
Read More
-
Read More
-
Read More
-
The Walking In The Smokies Horse Show, scheduled for April 8-10, 2021, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee is preparing for their first annual show and would like to send a reminder to anyone needing stalls that the deadline is March 15. Please contact Lexi Stinnett at 828-550-8520 to reserve stalls on the show grounds.
Read More
-
The Walking Horse Trainers’ Association National Trainers’ Show will be held at Calsonic Arena in Shelbyville, Tenn. March 18-20, 2021. Judges for the three-day event will be Wayne Dean, Newton Parks and Johnny Puckett.
Read More
-
The USDA recently conducted their virtual HIO training course for the 2021 show season. The USDA and industry recently received the final report from the National Academies of Sciences (NAS) and some of the recommendations in that report are communicated in the new processes the USDA will implement in 2021...
Read More
-
On Saturday. February 20th, the Walking Horse Owners’ Association (WHOA) held their National High Point awards for 2020 on their WHOA Facebook page with winners who chose to be zooming in to accept their awards...
Read More
-
The Walking Horse Owners’ Association (WHOA) will recognize their award winners from the 2020 show season during a virtual awards ceremony on Saturday, February 20, 2021. The show will be broadcast live on WHOA’s Facebook page beginning at 6 pm central time.
Read More
-
The FAST Spring Showcase is pleased to announce that John Fikes, Newton Parks and Sam Sorrell will judge this years’ two-day event. The show will be held at Calsonic Arena in Shelbyville, Tenn. April 16-17, 2021...
Read More
|