Ted Budd: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. As a family owner and a fan of the Tennessee Walker breed, I rise today in strong…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. As a family owner and a fan of the Tennessee Walker breed, I rise today in strong support of this very important animal protection bill, the PAST Act, of which I am a cosponsor. I want to thank my good friend, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho) for his tireless leadership on this bill, as well as the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Schrader). I thank them. So the PAST Act bans the practice of soring, which is a process of inflicting pain on horses' hooves an their legs in order to give them a higher gait. Breeders sometimes use soring to give their horses an advantage in competition, as we have talked about tonight, but the pain inflicted upon the animals is inhumane, and it should be stopped. For years, we have known about this harmful practice, yet there has been very little action to remedy or fix the problem. A recent story I read described the process of exposing sensitive tissues within the hooves of the horse by filing away the hoof. Sharp objects, such as screws, are then pierced into the sensitive tissue inflicting pain to the animal. The damaged tissue that appears after this process is burned away sometimes with acids that burn the horse's skin. Sadly, this barbaric practice continues, and sometimes even out in the open. The current enforcement mechanisms we have in place are not working well enough, and it is time to pass this important bipartisan piece of legislation.…”