releases: http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/congressman-cohen-condemns-new-reports-animal-abuse-tennessee-walking-horse-trainers
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
This data as json
| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/congressman-cohen-condemns-new-reports-animal-abuse-tennessee-walking-horse-trainers | Congressman Cohen Condemns New Reports of Animal Abuse by Tennessee Walking Horse Trainers | 2015-08-25 | 2015 | 2015-08 | Democrat | House | TN | Steve Cohen | C001068 | cohen.house.gov | legacy | [MEMPHIS, TN] After an investigation was released today finding evidence of Tennessee Walking Horse trainers using inhumane and illegal soring techniques to artificially exaggerate the gait of their horses, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) called on Congress to pass the bipartisan Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, H.R. 3268, to end the tactics once and for all. Congressman Cohen is a lifelong supporter of animal rights and welfare issues and has received several Humane Champion awards from the Humane Society of the United States. I am disappointedbut not surprisedthat evidence of Big Lick trainers abusing horses and disregarding state and federal animal welfare laws has once again come to light, said Congressman Cohen. Our societys treatment of animals is a reflection on all of us. Causing pain to animals to win a prize is unacceptable. Its inhumane and unsportsmanlike. It is cheating to win by physically abusing horses. There is no ribbon, no prize nor championship worth ones humanity. The Congressman continued: Soring horses is both illegal and morally unacceptable, but trainers are clearly taking advantage of lax oversight and wide loopholes to do it anyway. We need to modernize our laws by passing the bipartisan PAST Act to finally put an end to these terrible practices and unequivocally say that Americans treat animals humanely. Horses in these walking horse shows are known for possessing a smooth, natural gait, but in order to be successful in some competitions their natural gait is often artificially exaggerated through the soring process to ensure an extreme, high-stepping gait known as the Big Lick or performance gait, while showing. Soring is the irritating or blistering of a horses forelegs through the application of caustic chemicals such as mustard oil, cutting the horses hoof painfully short, or the use of mechanical devices to inflict pain, so that it hurts the horse to step down. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |