In the News: ‘Robert Redford calls for a ban on horse slaughter’

Horse slaughter is a controversial, hot-button issue. We now know where the Electric Horseman stands, thanks to PR Newswire.

Top photo: Redford in The Horse Whisperer

From the press release:

Actor, director, environmentalist and founder of the Sundance Festival, Redford wrote a letter to Equine Advocates President Susan Wagner to support the unequivocal stance that horse slaughter must be banned in the US. ‘Horses are acquired for slaughter without disclosure and often through fraud and misrepresentation.  The entire slaughter process is cruel, inhumane and perpetuates abuse and neglect without consequences, in addition to condoning a violation of our nation’s cruelty laws,’ said Redford. ‘As Americans, we have the right to oppose both the return of horse slaughter to the US and the transport of our wild and domestic equines to other countries for the purpose of slaughter.’

New York is the latest state to push for a ban on horse slaughter with Senate Bill S.4615 and Assembly Bill A.390, co-sponsored by New York State Assemblyman Jim Tedisco and State Senator Kathy Marchione.  If passed, New York State would join California, Illinois, New Jersey and Texas in prohibiting it.

Wherever you stand on the issue, let’s just all come together for one moment to appreciate these two amazing Robert Redford, horse lover, moments.

The first is from The Electric Horseman (1979). Redford plays Sonny Steele, a washed-up rodeo star awaiting his appearance on a Las Vegas stage, wearing a suit covered in lights, advertising a breakfast cereal. When he finds out they are going to drug the horse in case its too frisky, he rides off into the desert…

And here’s a trailer for The Horse Whisperer (1998), in which Redford plays the role of a trainer with a gift for understanding horses, who is hired to help an injured teenager (baby Scarlett Johansson) and her horse back to health following a tragic accident.

Go Riding.