The U.S. House has voted 333 to 96 in favor of the U.S. Senator Joseph D. Tydings Memorial Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, H.R. 693.
Officials of the Humane Society of the United States said, "This much-needed legislation will amend the Horse Protection Act, closing loopholes that have allowed violators to continue their heinous practices undeterred.
"Soring involves intentional infliction of pain on a horse's legs or hooves to force the horse to perform an artificial, high-stepping gait known as the “big lick.” The Humane Society of the United States has documented these abuses in undercover investigations of the big lick segment of the industry in 2012 and 2015."
The PAST Act would end the system of industry self-policing that has been in place since a 1976 amendment to the Horse Protection Act allowed the industry to take on the bulk of enforcement. The bill would substitute a cadre of third party, independent inspectors trained, licensed and assigned by USDA and accountable to the agency. It would ban devices integral to soring, strengthen penalties and hold abusers accountable.
The Senate companion bill, S. 1007, introduced in April by Senators Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Mark Warner, D-Va., currently has 41 Senate cosponsors. The identical legislation was approved by the Senate Commerce Committee in 2014.