Appeals Court Rules Against USDA on Soring Penalties

The court ruled that the USDA doesn’t have authority to require minimum penalties for Horse Protection Act violators.
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The 5th District Court of Appeals in Texas has ruled that the USDA does not have the authority to require horse industry organizations (HIOs) to impose minimum penalties for Horse Protection Act (HPA) violators.

The HPA forbids soring and tasks the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) with enforcing the act, certifying HIOs, and training designated qualified persons (DQPs). The HIOs hire DQPs to carry out HPA compliance inspections on horses presented for exhibition at the horse shows. Under existing HPA enforcement regulations, violation penalties can be set by either the HIOs or USDA-APHIS.

In 2012, the USDA-APHIS required HIOs to impose minimum penalties for HPA violations as identified by DQPs. Penalties included a lifetime suspension for anyone who received three HPA violations under USDA-APHIS inspection rules.

Subsequently, in a complaint before the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division, the HIO that manages the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration—Sound Horses, Honest Judging, Objective Inspections, Winning Fairly (SHOW)—challenged the USDA rule. That court found that the USDA acted lawfully when it required minimum HPA enforcement rules

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Written by:

Pat Raia is a veteran journalist who enjoys covering equine welfare, industry, and news. In her spare time, she enjoys riding her Tennessee Walking Horse, Sonny.

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