Appeals Court Rules Against USDA on Soring Penalties

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.

However, on Feb. 19, ruling on an appeal by Contender Farms, LLP and exhibitor Mike McGartland, the 5th District Court of Appeals in Texas overturned the lower court's decision.

“A broad grant of general rulemaking authority does not allow an agency to make amendments to statutory provisions,” the ruling said. “The HPA authorizes the USDA to develop a private inspection system carried out by DQPs who are certified by HIOs, but it does not imply that the USDA may then establish a mandatory private enforcement system administered by those HIOs.”

Walter Chism, acting executive director of the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders and Exhibitors Association (TWHBA), applauded the decision.

“TWHBEA is a proponent of objective, science-based inspection protocols to eliminate any soring that remains in the industry (and) the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals agrees that today’s subjective inspection protocols are 'more art than science' and 'yield a large number of false positives,'” Chism said in a written statement. “We are hopeful this decision will lead our industry to predictable preshow inspections.”

Meanwhile, Walking Horse advocates Friends of Sound Horses (FOSH) and the American Horse Protection Association (AHPA) believe the decision threatens horse welfare.

“We are concerned that these elements will use the decision not only to avoid punishing people who abuse horses, but to redouble their efforts to resist USDA’s efforts to end soring,” FOSH President Teresa Bippen and AHPA Executive Director Robin Lohnes said in a joint statement. “In that sense, this decision is a travesty for the welfare of the horse and a major blow to the interests of all owners, breeders, trainers, and exhibitors who have fought for so many years to ensure that show horse competition is both humane and fair.”