Farmers gear up for animal rights fight

WASHINGTON - The state's farm leaders have plenty on their plate these days, from the farm bill and possible stimulus benefits to the potential costs of the administration's climate change agenda. But nothing has them quite as worked up as the issue of animal welfare.

More than 80 county leaders from the Ohio Farm Bureau came to the capital this week to talk to legislators about their concerns. And every one of those talks included mention of the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act and the much-maligned Humane Society of the United States.

Introduced by U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act would prohibit the sale of horses for slaughter. While the Humane Society of the United States and other animal rights groups say the practice is unnecessary, opponents say something has to be done with old and unwanted horses.

"If I could have an amendment that whoever votes for this has to take five horse and take care of them, I'd vote for it," said Rep. Collin Peterson, the Minnesota Democrat who chairs the House Agriculture Committee. "This whole thing is just out of control. The city people just don't understand this at all."

The battle goes beyond horses. In reality, there are no horse processing plants left in the United States so the horses that are slaughtered are taken out of the country. Farm advocates are more concerned about the precedent that would be set if the bill passes.

"This is a slippery slope. It's sets a precedent for banning any livestock processing," said Kelly Ludlum, congressional relations director for the American Farm Bureau.

The group's real fear is a potential state battle over animal welfare practices. California voters just passed a proposition that requires animals have room to stand up and move around in pens. The proposition was funded by the Humane Society of the United States - a national group not associated with local humane societies - and it has its sights set on Ohio next.

The Humane Society of the United States is a popular bogeyman among farm leaders - Ohio Farm Bureau President Brent Porteus jokingly refers to them as a radical anti-meat terrorist organization - but House Republican Leader John Boehner warned them not to take the group lightly.

"Do not underestimate the power of these organizations to come in and arbitrarily change the rules. This is a real struggle," Boehner said.

The Farm Bureau is gearing up to against what they know will be a campaign of televised images of cute animals trapped in tiny cages. They hope to head that off with a proactive campaign highlighting the reasons behind common farming practices.

"The future can be pretty bleak if we don't do something about it now. We need to get the word out that we have a certain level of responsibility and expertise and that has to be respected," Ludlum said.