SAFE Act of 2025

On February 27, 2025, Representative Vern Buchanan (R-FL) introduced HR1661, the Save America's Forgotten Equines Act of 2025 (SAFE Act). The bill amends the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 to extend the existing prohibition on slaughtering dogs and cats for human consumption to equines (horses and mules). Violators would be subject to a fine. The bill has been referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry and has 228 cosponsors, with an identical companion bill (S775) in the Senate. There is zero funding associated with this legislation. It does not authorize or appropriate any money, impose taxes, create tax credits, or establish any procurement program. The enforcement mechanism is a fine on individuals who knowingly slaughter equines or transport them for that purpose. No federal dollars flow to any company or sector as a result of this bill. The bill has no structural winners or losers among publicly traded companies. Equine slaughter for human consumption in the U.S. is effectively non-existent as a commercial enterprise — no publicly traded company operates such facilities. The prohibition would not affect meatpacking companies (e.g., Tyson Foods $TSN, JBS $JBSAY), pet food manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies (equine blood/urine collection is not affected — the bill targets slaughter for human consumption only), or any other public company's revenue stream. The bill explicitly exempts conduct that does not involve human consumption. The bill is in early legislative stages — referred to subcommittee. Even with strong cosponsor support (228 in the House) and a companion bill, passage requires full committee markup, floor votes in both chambers, and presidential action. No timeline is assured for a bill this early in the 119th Congress.