II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1121 

To amend the Horse Protection Act to designate additional unlawful acts 

under the Act, strengthen penalties for violations of the Act, improve 

Department of Agriculture enforcement of the Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 28, 2015 

Ms. AYOTTE (for herself, Mr. WARNER, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. COLLINS, 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. KIRK, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. PETERS, Mr. TOOMEY, 

Mr. VITTER, Mrs. MCCASKILL, and Mr. DAINES) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend the Horse Protection Act to designate additional 

unlawful acts under the Act, strengthen penalties for 

violations of the Act, improve Department of Agriculture 

enforcement of the Act, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prevent All Soring 

5 Tactics Act of 2015’’ or the ‘‘PAST Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INCREASED ENFORCEMENT UNDER HORSE PRO2 TECTION ACT. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2 of the Horse Protection 

4 Act (15 U.S.C. 1821) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), (3), 

6 and (4) as paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5), respec7 tively; 

8 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so re9 designated) the following new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(1)(A) The term ‘action device’ means any 

11 boot, collar, chain, roller, or other device that encir12 cles or is placed upon the lower extremity of the leg 

13 of a horse in such a manner that it can— 

14 ‘‘(i) rotate around the leg or slide up and 

15 down the leg, so as to cause friction; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) strike the hoof, coronet band, fetlock 

17 joint, or pastern of the horse. 

18 ‘‘(B) Such term does not include soft rubber or 

19 soft leather bell boots or quarter boots that are used 

20 as protective devices.’’; and 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

22 paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(6)(A) The term ‘participate’ means engaging 

24 in any activity with respect to a horse show, horse 

25 exhibition, or horse sale or auction, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) transporting or arranging for the 

2 transportation of a horse to or from a horse 

3 show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction; 

4 ‘‘(ii) personally giving instructions to an 

5 exhibitor; or 

6 ‘‘(iii) being knowingly present in a warm7 up area, inspection area, or other area at a 

8 horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or 

9 auction that spectators are not permitted to 

10 enter. 

11 ‘‘(B) Such term does not include spectating.’’. 

12 (b) FINDINGS.—Section 3 of the Horse Protection 

13 Act (15 U.S.C. 1822) is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘and soring horses for 

16 such purposes’’ after ‘‘horses in intrastate com17 merce’’; and 

18 (B) by inserting ‘‘in many ways, including 

19 by creating unfair competition, by deceiving the 

20 spectating public and horse buyers, and by neg21 atively impacting horse sales’’ before the semi22 colon; 

23 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

24 end; 


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1 (3) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at 

2 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

3 (4) by adding at the end the following new 

4 paragraphs: 

5 ‘‘(6) the Inspector General of the Department 

6 of Agriculture has determined that the program 

7 through which the Secretary inspects horses is inad8 equate for preventing soring; 

9 ‘‘(7) historically, Tennessee Walking Horses, 

10 Racking Horses, and Spotted Saddle Horses have 

11 been subjected to soring; and 

12 ‘‘(8) despite regulations in effect related to in13 spection for purposes of ensuring that horses are not 

14 sore, violations of this Act continue to be prevalent 

15 in the Tennessee Walking Horse, Racking Horse, 

16 and Spotted Saddle Horse breeds.’’. 

17 (c) HORSE SHOWS AND EXHIBITIONS.—Section 4 of 

18 the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1823) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘appointed’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘licensed’’; and 

22 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

23 sentences: ‘‘In the first instance in which the 

24 Secretary determines that a horse is sore, the 

25 Secretary shall disqualify the horse from being 


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1 shown or exhibited for a period of not less than 

2 180 days. In the second instance in which the 

3 Secretary determines that such horse is sore, 

4 the Secretary shall disqualify the horse for a 

5 period of not less than one year. In the third 

6 instance in which the Secretary determines that 

7 such horse is sore, the Secretary shall disqualify 

8 the horse for a period of not less than three 

9 years.’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘appointed’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘licensed’’; 

12 (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

13 following new subsection: 

14 ‘‘(c)(1)(A) The Secretary shall prescribe by regula15 tion requirements for the Department of Agriculture to 

16 license, train, assign, and oversee persons qualified to de17 tect and diagnose a horse which is sore or to otherwise 

18 inspect horses at horse shows, horse exhibitions, or horse 

19 sales or auctions, for hire by the management of such 

20 events, for the purposes of enforcing this Act. 

21 ‘‘(B) No person shall be issued a license under this 

22 subsection unless such person is free from conflicts of in23 terest, as defined by the Secretary in the regulations 

24 issued under subparagraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(C) If the Secretary determines that the perform2 ance of a person licensed in accordance with subparagraph 

3 (A) is unsatisfactory, the Secretary may, after notice and 

4 an opportunity for a hearing, revoke the license issued to 

5 such person. 

6 ‘‘(D) In issuing licenses under this subsection, the 

7 Secretary shall give a preference to persons who are li8 censed or accredited veterinarians. 

9 ‘‘(E) Licensure of a person in accordance with the 

10 requirements prescribed under this subsection shall not be 

11 construed as authorizing such person to conduct inspec12 tions in a manner other than that prescribed for inspec13 tions by the Secretary (or the Secretary’s representative) 

14 under subsection (e). 

15 ‘‘(2)(A) Not later than 30 days before the date on 

16 which a horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auc17 tion begins, the management of such show, exhibition, or 

18 sale or auction may notify the Secretary of the intent of 

19 the management to hire a person or persons licensed 

20 under this subsection and assigned by the Secretary to 

21 conduct inspections at such show, exhibition, or sale or 

22 auction. 

23 ‘‘(B) After such notification, the Secretary shall as24 sign a person or persons licensed under this subsection 


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1 to conduct inspections at the horse show, horse exhibition, 

2 or horse sale or auction. 

3 ‘‘(3) A person licensed by the Secretary to conduct 

4 inspections under this subsection shall issue a citation 

5 with respect to any violation of this Act recorded during 

6 an inspection and notify the Secretary of each such viola7 tion not later than five days after the date on which a 

8 citation was issued with respect to such violation.’’; and 

9 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub10 section: 

11 ‘‘(f) The Secretary shall publish on the public website 

12 of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the 

13 Department of Agriculture, and update as frequently as 

14 the Secretary determines is necessary, information on vio15 lations of this Act for the purposes of allowing the man16 agement of a horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale 

17 or auction to determine if an individual is in violation of 

18 this Act.’’. 

19 (d) UNLAWFUL ACTS.—Section 5 of the Horse Pro20 tection Act (15 U.S.C. 1824) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘or (C) respecting’’ and in23 serting ‘‘(C), or (D) respecting’’; and 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘and (D)’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘(D) causing a horse to become sore or directVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:58 May 07, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1121.IS S1121

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1 ing another person to cause a horse to become 

2 sore for the purpose of showing, exhibiting, sell3 ing, auctioning, or offering for sale the horse in 

4 any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale 

5 or auction, and (E)’’; 

6 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘appoint’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘hire’’; 

8 (3) in paragraph (4)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘appoint’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘hire’’; and 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘qualified’’; 

12 (4) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘appointed’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘hired’’; 

14 (5) in paragraph (6)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘appointed’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘hired’’; and 

17 (B) by inserting ‘‘that the horse is sore’’ 

18 after ‘‘the Secretary’’; and 

19 (6) by adding at the end the following new 

20 paragraphs: 

21 ‘‘(12) The use of an action device on any limb 

22 of a Tennessee Walking Horse, a Racking Horse, or 

23 a Spotted Saddle Horse at a horse show, horse exhi24 bition, or horse sale or auction. 


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1 ‘‘(13) The use of a weighted shoe, pad, wedge, 

2 hoof band, or other device or material at a horse 

3 show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction 

4 that— 

5 ‘‘(A) is placed on, inserted in, or attached 

6 to any limb of a Tennessee Walking Horse, a 

7 Racking Horse, or a Spotted Saddle Horse; 

8 ‘‘(B) is constructed to artificially alter the 

9 gait of such a horse; and 

10 ‘‘(C) is not strictly protective or thera11 peutic in nature.’’. 

12 (e) VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES.—Section 6 of the 

13 Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1825) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘Except as provided in 

17 paragraph (2) of this subsection, any per18 son who knowingly violates section 5’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘Any person who knowingly vio20 lates section 5 or the regulations issued 

21 under such section, including any violation 

22 recorded during an inspection conducted in 

23 accordance with section 4(c) or 4(e)’’; and 

24 (ii) by striking ‘‘more than $3,000, or 

25 imprisoned for not more than one year, or 


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1 both.’’ and inserting ‘‘more than $5,000, 

2 or imprisoned for not more than three 

3 years, or both, for each such violation.’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (i) by striking subparagraph (A); 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘(2)’’; and 

7 (iii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

8 (B) and (C) as paragraphs (2) and (3), re9 spectively, and moving the margins of such 

10 paragraphs (as so redesignated) two ems 

11 to the left; and 

12 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

13 paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(4) Any person who knowingly fails to obey an order 

15 of disqualification shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined 

16 not more than $5,000 for each failure to obey such an 

17 order, imprisoned for not more than three years, or both.’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (b)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

20 (i) by striking ‘‘section 5 of this Act’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘section 5 or the regulations 

22 issued under such section’’; and 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘$2,000’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘$4,000’’; and 


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1 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

2 paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(5) Any person who fails to pay a licensed inspector 

4 hired under section 4(c) shall, upon conviction thereof, be 

5 fined not more than $4,000 for each such violation.’’; and 

6 (3) in subsection (c)— 

7 (A) in the first sentence— 

8 (i) by inserting ‘‘, or otherwise partici9 pating in any horse show, horse exhibition, 

10 or horse sale or auction’’ before ‘‘for a pe11 riod of not less than one year’’; and 

12 (ii) by striking ‘‘any subsequent’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘the second’’; 

14 (B) by inserting before ‘‘Any person who 

15 knowingly fails’’ the following: ‘‘For the third 

16 or any subsequent violation, a person may be 

17 permanently disqualified by order of the Sec18 retary, after notice and an opportunity for a 

19 hearing before the Secretary, from showing or 

20 exhibiting any horse, judging or managing any 

21 horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or 

22 auction, or otherwise participating in, including 

23 financing the participation of other individuals 

24 in, any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse 

25 sale or auction (regardless of whether walking 


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1 horses are shown, exhibited, sold, auctioned, or 

2 offered for sale at the horse show, horse exhi3 bition, or horse sale or auction).’’; and 

4 (C) by striking ‘‘$3,000’’ each place it ap5 pears and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’. 

6 (f) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

8 Agriculture shall issue regulations to carry out the amend9 ments made by this section, including regulations pre10 scribing the requirements under subsection (c) of section 

11 4 of the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1823(c)), as 

12 amended by subsection (c)(3). 

13 (g) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this Act or 

14 any amendment made by this Act, or the application of 

15 a provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be 

16 unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and the 

17 amendments made by this Act, and the application of the 

18 provisions to any person or circumstance, shall not be af19 fected by the holding. 

Æ 


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