National Animal Protection Organization Asks Presidential Candidate and Iowa Caucus...

National Animal Protection Organization Asks Presidential Candidate and Iowa
Caucus Winner Mike Huckabee to Forgo Eating Horses

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Jan. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- United Animal Nations
(UAN) today asked presidential candidate and Iowa caucus winner Mike Huckabee
to educate himself about horse slaughter and reconsider consuming a Dutch
horsemeat dish, which he recently described as tasting "like chicken."

According to Washington Wire, a blog from The Wall Street Journal's Capital
Bureau, Huckabee made the comment on December 21, 2007, when speaking with a
group of reporters in eastern Iowa. The blog entry suggested that Huckabee was
perhaps pandering to the Dutch Iowan vote when he mentioned several of his
favorite Dutch foods, including one made from horsemeat.

"Given that an estimated 70 percent of Americans disapprove of eating horses,
and that our own House of Representatives passed a bill to ban horse slaughter
in 2006, I was shocked that a high-profile presidential candidate would show
such flippancy about a current issue that is important to many Americans and
legislators," UAN President and CEO Nicole Forsyth said. "We hope that Mr.
Huckabee will check the facts and learn why most Americans view horses as an
icon and companion, not as a dinner option. We have sent him a letter
explaining why most Americans find eating horses deplorable."
UAN's letter to the Huckabee campaign included the following points:

-- Although horsemeat is considered a delicacy in Europe and Asia, the vast
majority of Americans oppose eating it.

-- Horse slaughter is not a humane form of euthanasia. Horses suffer
tremendously during transport to the slaughterhouse, and are killed using
equipment designed for cattle. According to federal law, horses must be
rendered unconscious prior to slaughter, usually with a captive bolt pistol.
However, some are improperly stunned and still conscious when they are killed.
In Canada and Mexico, slaughter methods are equally if not more barbaric.

-- The USDA reports that 92 percent of the 100,000 horses slaughtered in the
United States at three foreign-owned slaughterhouses in 2006 were young horses
in "good" condition, contradicting a common belief that slaughtered horses are
typically old or injured.

-- In 2007, state-level legislation and legal action caused all three U.S.
slaughterhouses to cease operations; federal legislation to permanently ban
horse slaughter for meat is currently in both the U.S. House and Senate.

-- The U.S. exported more than 6,200 live horses to the Netherlands in 2006,
many likely destined for slaughter.

The popular celebrity gossip site TMZ.com also carried the story of Huckabee's
meal preference, drawing several critical comments from readers. One
commenter, "grammote," posted, "Americans find it offensive to eat a horse due
to our culture, and it is our culture that shapes our laws. Mr. Huckabee if
you truly want to be president I advise you to take those...Americans into
consideration."

United Animal Nations (UAN) is North America's leading provider of emergency
animal sheltering and disaster relief services and a key advocate for the
critical needs of animals. Learn more at www.uan.org

SOURCE United Animal Nations

Alexis Raymond of United Animal Nations, +1-916-429-2457, ext. 309 or
+1-916-204-3831 (cell)