The document announces a press conference called the "Summit of the Live Horse" organized by Respect4Horses to address issues surrounding horse slaughter and wild horses. It will bring together experts from animal welfare organizations to counter another conference focused on increasing horse slaughter. The press conference will be broadcast live online and answer questions about whether horse slaughter is humane or necessary in the US.

1. For Immediate Release: March 22, 2012
Contact: Simone Netherlands,
Director, Respect4Horses
(928) 925-7212
Horse Welfare Conference to Counter Horse Slaughter Conference
Is Horse Slaughter Coming to a Neighborhood Near You?
Oklahoma City, (R4H) – Equine advocates from across the nation will
participate in a press conference and live webcast, the Summit of the Live
Horse, aired from Oklahoma City on 04/03/2012 to address the explosive
issues surrounding Horse Slaughter and Wild Horses and Burros.
The Summit of the Live Horse Press Conference
Holiday Inn, Will Rogers Airport
4401 SW 15th St.
Oklahoma City, OK 73108
12 – 1PM CDT
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Late last year, three lawmakers in Washington, D.C. (Rep. Kingston, Sen.
Blunt and Sen. Kohl), legalized Horse Slaughter in the U.S. by removing
language from an Agriculture Appropriations bill, which had prohibited federal
funds from being spent to inspect horse slaughter plants. President Obama
signed the bill into law and in doing so ignited a heated anti/pro-horse
debate, which crosses all of the socio-economic demographics of the U.S.
While last year two conferences representing opposing sides of the coin took
place in Las Vegas, this year’s Equine battleground is set to play out in
Oklahoma City no farther than one city block away from each other.
In many states including Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Montana,
Washington and Oregon, the horse slaughter faction is beginning to lay the
groundwork to open horse slaughter plants for human consumption. In
several states, legislators are sponsoring bills that would turn their respective
states into hospitable environments for foreign investors to open horse
slaughtering operations by affording them potential tax incentives and by
violating U.S. citizen’s First Amendment rights by sheltering the horse
slaughter business’ from lawsuits.
“Any responsible horse owner, as well as any concerned tax payer, should be

2. petrified about what could happen next!”, says Simone Netherlands, Director
of Respect4Horses and organizer of the Summit of the Live Horse Press
Conference.
This press conference will bring directors and equine experts from the largest
animal and horse welfare organizations together as one united voice for the
future welfare of the American Horse, both domestic and wild. Participants
include, but not limited to, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS),
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), The
Cloud Foundation, Respect4Horses, Animal Rescue Unit and Wild Horse
Freedom Federation.
Will horse slaughter be coming to your neighborhood? Do we need horse
slaughter in America? Can horse slaughter be made humane? Is horsemeat
toxic? Does horse slaughter solve abuse and neglect? Does horse slaughter
encourage over breeding? Will our wild horses be slaughtered? Will it stop
horse slaughter across our borders?
While at the Summit of the Horse, the horse slaughter faction will be
strategizing for three days about how to increase the demand for horse
meat, how to slaughter our wild horses and how to open slaughter plants in
the U.S., the Summit of the Live Horse Press Conference will utilize the
expertise of equine experts and professionals to answer the above questions
and offer solutions and alternatives.
Panel members will include:
• Scott Beckstead, Senior Oregon Director for The Humane Society of
the United States
• Carolyn Schnurr, Director of Legislative Affairs ASPCA
• Ginger Kathrens, Filmmaker and Director of the Cloud Foundation.
• Dr. Jennifer Madden, DVM
• Simone Netherlands, Horse trainer and Director of Respect4Horses
• R.T. Fitch, writer and co-founder of Wild Horse Freedom Federation
• Brogan Horton, Founder of Animal Rescue Unit
• Paula Bacon, former Mayor of Kaufman, Texas
The interactive Summit of the Live Horse Press Conference will be broadcast
on Ustream.tv, April 3, 2012. This service will give the press conference
global coverage and allow anyone to participate in the question and answer
sessions after words. Search Ustream.tv/Respect4Horses at 12:00 noon CDT
to log into the live broadcast to participate. The link will also be available at
www.Respect4Horses.com
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Any and all members of the press are cordially invited.
Free tickets to the public are available by emailing
lobby@respect4horses.com
For additional information call: (928) 308-6718

3. Footage of last years conferences :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4hyPDzEbLU&feature=player_embedded